Immortal Blood
by King Oz
Summary: FINISHED! Kai is hiding a secret from the rest of the team and when it's revealed, Rei's own immortal secret comes out, leaving them to deal with all the complications that follow.. KaiRei!
1. Secrets

Because I was bored, not being able to type up the rest of 'Another Word for Strength' cause I finished it, I decided to find something else to do: type up another story I have notes for!  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter One: Secrets  
  
Kai winced and grabbed his chest in pain. He groaned and rolled over again in his bed. He had been there for over two days and everyone was beginning to get worried. It was two years after the Russian tournament and the Bladebreakers had reformed for the 2004 Asian tournament held in China. They had decided to grab a lodge a week earlier and ever since they arrived, Kai had not once left his room.  
  
He cried out as yet another stabbing pain shot through his chest. He hadn't felt this weak since he was first turned. When the pain went away he stood finally and went to the newspaper his fellow team mates had shoved under the door. It was nothing more than the local news, but Kai's attention was caught on the front page. The story was about the nearest hospital having to step up its security after the previous night's raid. Kai rolled his eyes and sighed. There went his chances of getting help. There was no way he could sneak in now. And he refused to do things the proper way, so he had locked the door in case he couldn't control his urges around the Bladebreakers. Not even Mr. Dickenson had talked to the boy face to face since they got there.  
  
"Kai!" Takao banged on the door. He tried this twice, daily, and had yet to get Kai to open the door. "What the hell is wrong with you? Other than the usual. You know, we haven't seen you for two years and some of us are starting to worry about you. Are you okay in there?"  
  
"I'm fine!" Kai snapped. "I just need some time alone." He heard Takao grumble again at not getting him out and walk away. Kai winced again as he felt a weaker twinge of pain shoot through his head. He looked to the window and sighed. There was no other way out. He'd just have to take his chances getting in and out of the hospital that night without getting caught. He waited for the sun to set before grabbing his scarf and opening the window.  
  
He jumped onto the ledge and down to the grass and began to run towards the mountains, following a small dirt path. He remembered from the bus ride that the hospital was only over the range and it was about a two hour hike going through them. He set his pace at a quick jog and tried to ignore the building pain in his chest and head. Within minutes he had to slow down to keep from wheezing. He walked slowly over the first foot hill and came panting to the second. Before he could even get to the rocky base of the mountains he was fully passed out, sprawled on the grass.  
  
***  
  
Rei woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and energised. He looked at his mini-calendar and grinned. There was only a week and a half until the tournament and five days till his sixteenth birthday. He was excited, even though no one else knew of his birthday.  
  
He pulled on his clothes and went outside for a morning walk. Normally his walks were straight to the foot of the mountains but today he decided to go around the back of the lodge and to the lake before heading towards the mountains. He didn't know what had made him to decide to go around the lake first, but he was glad he did. The view was breathtaking and the radiant sun's rays bounced off the surface in a jumble of colour.  
  
He found a large rock and sat down to stare at the lovely scenery for a few minutes. When he was ready to continue his walk, he went back around the cabin and towards the beaten path, heading straight for the mountains.  
  
Just as he rounded one of the little foot hills, he caught sight of a heap of clothing. He moved closer to check it out and his breath caught in his throat when he recognised the scarf wrapped around the figures neck.  
  
"Kai?!" he exclaimed and ran over to the mass of body. He kneeled beside his friend and pressed two fingers to his neck to make sure he wasn't dead. He was relieved to find a faint but steady heartbeat. He looked around for a second, but sighed when he realised there would be no one to help him carry Kai back to the lodge. It would take to much time to run there and back. He'd just have to drag him there himself.  
  
He picked Kai's hands up and shivered at the coldness. They were freezing. He pushed away the feeling and pulled Kai onto his back, similar to the way Takao had carried him to the Asian tournament when he fell. Although Kai was heavy, he straightened himself out and began jogging back to the lodge they shared with the other Bladebreakers.  
  
As soon as he got close enough, he began to call for help from anyone who was up and would hear him.  
  
"Kenny! Max! Mr. Dickenson! I need some help here!" he called. He didn't even bother with Takao, knowing that even after two years he was still a late sleeper. Everyone called came out of the lodge to see what the problem was.  
  
"What's wr- holy shit!" Max cried, seeing Kai's pale face slumped over Rei's shoulder. "What happened to him?"  
  
"I don't know." Rei replied. He walked into the lodge and carried Kai to his room. Max tried to open the door but found it was stuck.  
  
"He must have snuck out through the window." Kenny pointed out. Max nodded and left the lodge. A few seconds later he unlocked Kai's bedroom door. Rei nodded his thanks and dropped Kai down on his bed. Him and Kai were supposed to share a room, but Rei had been forced to sleep out on the couch since Kai had locked everybody out.  
  
"I was out walking and I found him lying near the mountains." Rei explained. Mr. Dickenson entered the room and held up his cell phone.  
  
"I've just called for a local doctor. He's got a patient but can be here in an hour." He told them. Rei nodded and sat down on his bed.  
  
Kai turned his head and his eyes snapped open. He sat up quickly and looked at the three other occupants of the room.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he wheezed slightly. He winced slightly when a sharp pain shot through his chest. He brought a hand to his throat and coughed a couple of times before standing from the bed.  
  
"Rei found you out by the mountains." Kenny exclaimed. "You were passed out and he carried you back. Mr. Dickenson has called you a doctor." Kai's eyes widened at this. "Why a doctor?" he asked, feigning his health. He couldn't have a doctor look at him right now.  
  
"You're sick, Kai!" Max exclaimed.  
  
"No, I'm not." Kai argued, putting on his expressionless face. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with me. I must have been out for a walk and fell asleep." He glared at them all. Mr. Dickenson returned to check up on Kai.  
  
"Oh, you're awake!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Call the doctor back." Kai demanded. "I'm not sick. I don't need his services." Mr. Dickenson looked doubtfully at the boy.  
  
"Well, why don't we just have him come and do a check up, just in case."  
  
"If I feel sick, I'll go to a doctor." Kai said, stubbornly. "I wouldn't want to waste the doctor's time with a stupid little check-up when he could have other patients to attend to." Mr. Dickenson sighed.  
  
"Fine, glad to see you're doing fine." He left the room. Kai looked to the remaining people in his room. Max had a slight frown on his face, Kenny was yawning and fidgeting and Rei's expression was unreadable.  
  
"I guess we'll be heading back to bed if you're okay." Kenny squeaked and both him and Max left the room. Max turned back and cast a doubtful glance at Kai before leaving the room.  
  
"You can leave too." Kai exclaimed gruffly, trying to hint to Rei that he wanted some privacy.  
  
"Why should I leave, this is my room, too, after all." Rei replied and fell back on his bed. He looked up at Kai and gave him a slight grin. "Plus, you're act might have fooled Max, Kenny and Mr. Dickenson, but you will never be able to fool me. I know there's something wrong with you, only because I was the one who found you. You were barely breathing and I almost couldn't find a pulse." Kai looked down at him and realised that nothing he did would deceive Rei. He sighed deeply and let go. His legs failed him and he collapsed to the floor. He smiled when he heard Rei yelp out in surprise.  
  
"Kai!" he cried, softly and jumped up. Kai pulled himself up enough to lean against his bed with his legs crossed. "What do you need?" he asked sternly. Kai opened his eyes, which took a lot of effort on his part.  
  
"Blood." He whispered. Rei's eyes widened before he settled on a confused look. "I... I'm a vampire. I need blood to survive." For a few minutes it looked like Rei was about to scoff disbelievingly, but he stopped and let Kai explain. Kai opened his mouth and let his fangs grow out. Rei found he had to sit down. He across from Kai with his back against his own bed.  
  
"What about the sunlight? Aren't you supposed to hate it or something?" Rei asked, still trying to let it all sink in.  
  
"Bull shit. None of the superstitions are true. Except that I have to drink blood once a month." Rei nodded then looked troubled for a moment.  
  
"How are we supposed to get you some blood?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I usually got it by breaking into the blood banks but now it's impossible."  
  
"Why?" Rei asked. Kai picked up the old newspaper and tossed it at Rei. Rei read about the robbery and nodded.  
  
"So, why don't you just ask for some?" he asked. Kai scoffed and glared at him.  
  
"What do you say to them?" he asked. "Hello, can we have a pint or two? My friend is a vampire and he's a little short in his supply. Oh, no... He's perfectly friendly, wouldn't suck the blood from a fly." Rei crossed his arms and returned Kai's glare.  
  
"What other choices do you have?" he asked. "Isn't there another way to get blood?" Kai pointed to his fangs. Rei's brows furrowed and he began to fidget with his hands.  
  
"Have you ever killed someone for blood?" he asked. Kai held up his hands.  
  
"Never."  
  
"What happens to people when they're bitten?" Rei asked, avoiding Kai's eyes.  
  
"They're either sucked dry and die, or are converted into vampires themselves." Kai explained. He pulled himself back onto his bed and sat with his back against the headboard. Rei got up from the floor, too, and sat beside Kai. He took his wrap and pulled it aside and leant his head to the side, exposing his neck to Kai. Kai blinked, unsure of what Rei was doing.  
  
"Go ahead." Rei urged, leaning his neck a little closer. Kai leaned back in mock disgust, even though his stomach protested.  
  
"No way." Kai stated simply. "I'm not doing to you what my grandfather did you me. He didn't even give me a choice." He didn't want to do that to Rei. Rei furrowed his brows and glared at Kai angrily.  
  
"You need this blood and this is the only way for you to get it." Rei said. "You should know I'd do anything for you." Kai raised his eyebrows, surprised. He hadn't really thought that Rei would be willing to give up his life as a mortal for Kai.  
  
"You shouldn't have to do this for me." He said sullenly and hung his head. Rei growled and forced Kai's head up so he could look Kai square in the face.  
  
"I've never said 'bite me' and meant it, until now." Kai saw the certainty in Rei's eyes and at last hunger took control of his senses. He growled back and pulled Rei closer by grabbing his hips. Rei was straddling Kai's waist and waiting for Kai to sink his teeth in. Kai smirked and brought Rei's head down to his and placed a deep kiss on his lips. Rei opened his eyes in shock for a moment but melted into the kiss as he felt Kai's tongue force its way past his lips. He groaned into the kiss and brought his hands up to Kai's hair. He had never thought a kiss could arouse so much pleasure from somewhere deep inside of him. He felt Kai's hands move from his hips up to his sides and then to his back. Each touch sent fire up and down his spine.  
  
Kai left Rei's mouth and began placing long, hard kisses along Rei's jaw line. Rei tilted his head back to allow Kai easier access to his neck. Kai moved slower and began tracing circles along Rei's skin with his tongue. He paused at a spot just next to Rei's collar bone and licked along the skin. He heard Rei moan softly and grasp tightly at his hair. Kai continued his kissing. Rei moaned once more before speaking up.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" he whispered, breathless. Kai gave in to his vampire needs and bit down hard on Rei's neck. Rei cried out in pain at first and immediately felt weak. Kai kept rubbing the torn skin with his tongue while suckling the blood that was trickling out.  
  
When Kai felt he had enough he lifted his head and Rei fell limp in his arms. He softly let Rei fall back to the bed, appearing to be dead. His skin was pale and his eyes were shot open. Although he felt fully energised again, Kai sighed. He saw the exact same thing happen to the first person he sank his teeth into.  
  
When he was first turned he was overcome by the sudden urges he was experiencing and his grandfather told him to take one of the servants and so he did. The servant had taken several days to regain his strength and begin work again. He frowned wondering how long it would take Rei to regain consciousness. He stood up from the bed and went to the door. He slowly turned the lock, so no one would hear it and made sure the windows were sealed shut and the blinds were drawn. He went back to the bed where Rei lay and curled up beside him and fell asleep. He slept all day and no one thought to bother him or Rei.  
  
~Finis  
  
Wow, I'm actually finished the first chapter. Now on to chapter two. Now as you can see, this is a lot more... erm... 'graphic' than my first Beyblade fic.  
  
Please review it or e-mail me at firebird_dranzer@hotmail.com . I don't know when chapter two will be posted but it is done. When I've gotten past typing up chapter five I'll post it. I'm in the middle of four... and I'll tell you this, it gets a whole lot weirder.  
  
Chapter 2: Immortal 


	2. Immortal

**To Tsuki**: no... Kai's been locked up in the lodge room for two days. He was afraid of biting someone. I think you were mistaking that with the time that passed since they bladed in a tournament: two years.  
  
**And to Sephi (who made me think about this)**: I read your review and immediately began trying to come up with a plausible excuse... (other than the fact that I wanted him to bite Rei) and I've finally found a good reason (which I will use for the rest of the story). Kai can get blood from any source, however he won't be able to stomach it properly unless he uses his fangs to puncture the package the blood is contained in. this means that he has to use his teeth to tear into the plastic or flesh, whatever the case may be. Otherwise his hunger won't be satiated if he just drank it. (Yes I know it's a long and probably unbelievable reason, but it's all I have... for now anyways.)  
  
Since I got so many reviews for the first chapter I thought it would be about time for an update. Here's yet another lust-filled chapter. Heh heh. Oh, and when it says PG-13 it means PG-13. Although there's no actual sex in this story (a little too awkward for me to write) it's still very detailed and younger readers should heed this warning.  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter Two: Immortal  
  
***  
  
Kai woke up the next morning with the rays of sun peaking through the cracks in the blinds. He rolled out of bed and peeled back the curtains and stared out to the rolling hills. He didn't notice Rei roll over and mumble something in his sleep.  
  
Rei groaned softly and rolled back to face the window. He cracked one eye open and winced as the light filtered through the room. He opened his other eye and moaned as he tried to stretch his sore limbs.  
  
"G'morning, Kai-sama." He mumbled still half asleep. Kai spun around and gaped at Rei. "What the hell?!" he cried, thoroughly startled at Rei's awakening.  
  
"Is something wrong, Kai?" Rei asked, not understanding Kai's expression of pure shock. He chuckled as Kai tried to get out a few words.  
  
"You're not supposed to be up for several days." Kai exclaimed. "You're supposed to be unconscious. All mortals are when they make the change to immortality." He was still staring, open-mouthed, at Rei.  
  
"Really?" Rei wondered softly.  
  
"Unless..." Kai's expression grew even more surprised. Rei had never seen so much shock on one face at once.  
  
"Unless what?" he asked.  
  
"Are you immortal already, Rei?" Kai asked bluntly. Rei thought about it for a moment.  
  
"I think so, but I always thought my parents were lying about that." Kai looked at him funnily.  
  
"Why did you think that?" he asked. Rei looked up at Kai.  
  
"Because the next day they were murdered." He explained. "I always thought that immortals couldn't be killed. I guess I was wrong." Kai nodded solemnly.  
  
"I'm sorry..." Kai whispered.  
  
"Why are you sorry? You couldn't have saved them, could you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"So, what about my immortality?" Rei changed the subject. "What does it have anything to do with this?" he asked pointing to the red bite mark on his neck. His collar bone was littered with other teeth marks and little red marks where Kai's kisses had been left behind. Kai blushed, seeing the marks he left.  
  
"I can't turn you into a vampire if you're immortal. It's like drinking from a bottomless glass." He told Rei. "I can drink and drink and nothing will happen. Unless I drink too much in one go. Then you'll die."  
  
"Oh." Rei looked down, thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"Your body replenishes the blood faster than mortals." Kai added. Rei looked back up.  
  
"So then it doesn't hurt or change me if you drink my blood?" he asked. Kai nodded.  
  
"Nothing more than the teeth marks." He pointed to Rei's neck and blushed again. Rei nodded.  
  
"Ah, okay." He exclaimed. "So then are you still thirsty?" he asked, grinning at Kai. Kai gave him a weird look and smiled slightly.  
  
"A little bit, are you offering?"  
  
"Hai." Rei's grin broadened. Kai frowned suddenly.  
  
"Why?" he asked. "I just gave you a way out after I bit you last night. I've never heard of anyone, mortal or not, so eager to get their second bite." Rei's grin turned lopsided.  
  
"I enjoyed it." He chuckled. "And since I'm immortal, the worst you can do is kill me, so I'm not worried." Kai blinked. Rei wasn't being serious about the vampire thing, so Kai decided not to be.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked one last time, sitting beside Rei on the bed. Rei sighed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Are we going to have a repeat of last night?" he asked, slightly agitated. It was Kai's turn to grin.  
  
"Only if you want it to." Rei grinned as Kai literally pounced on Rei's offer and nipped playfully at Rei's ears. Rei let out a laugh and brought Kai's face to his. He looked into Kai's eyes deeply and pressed their lips together fiercely.  
  
Kai moved his head down to where his first bite was and began to suck the skin just below it to get the blood flowing again. Rei's groans and movements began to distract him until he finally had enough. He pushed Rei back into the mattress and moved his mouth to the other side of Rei's neck. He didn't pierce the skin but licked and nipped it mercilessly. Rei closed his eyes and held Kai's head in place. He couldn't get enough pleasure out of Kai's kissing.  
  
Kai lifted his head a few minutes later and Rei purred.  
  
"Oyasuminasai." Rei smiled and yawned. He was still tired from the night before. He quickly fell back asleep. Kai looked down at the boy beneath him and grinned. Deciding he needed the sleep too he wrapped his arms around Rei and fell asleep beside him.  
  
***  
  
The next day, everyone was up early. They ate breakfast quickly and went to the dish to do some practicing on Kai's insistence. Takao had made some comments about Kai and Rei being locked up in their room together for two whole days and got stuck with battling Kai. Rei and the others were sitting on the side laughing at Takao's lame attempts at defeating Kai. Rei was secretly thankful that his clothes had high collars and he didn't have to explain his hickeys and bite marks. He wasn't afraid of their reaction, it was Kai's reaction and the fact that nobody would believe him. He looked up again to notice Takao's blade go whizzing past his ear and everyone crack up as Takao began dancing around the dish, holding his ear and howling in mock pain.  
  
A middle-aged man came up to the group, wearing a postal uniform.  
  
"Kon Rei?" he called out, holding out a package. Rei's face lit up and he ran over to the man. He signed the checklist quickly and went back to his place beside Kenny and Max. Everyone watched him as he ripped into the box. He giggled as he pulled out a card and another gift-wrapped box. He set the card down and ripped into the box. He gasped when he pulled out a pair of swimming trunks with a white tiger at the bottom and a chain with a small circular pendant on it. He gasped when he saw these.  
  
"What?" Takao asked, forgetting that he was supposed to be faking an injury. "What did you get?"  
  
"It's the swim suit I wanted before I left the village and the Pendant of the White Tiger. It was said to have been passed down through my family through centuries." Everyone leaned closer to look at the chain as Rei put it around his neck. It was a flat circle with a white silhouette of a tiger melted right into it. Lines of gold ran like vines around it.  
  
"The White Tigers sent it to you?" Kenny asked. Rei nodded. "Why?" Rei opened the card and read it aloud.  
  
"Happy Sixteenth Birthday, Rei! We've sent this ahead just in case we don't get there in time to give it to you ourselves. Hope you have fun winning your second Asian tournament and say hi to the rest of the Bladebreakers for us. See you soon, Lee, Mariah, Kevin and Gary."  
  
"When's your birthday?" Takao asked. They had never even known when Rei was born.  
  
"It's in two days I think." Rei exclaimed. He had lost count of the days while he was asleep.  
  
"I can't believe we never knew!" Max cried. "We don't even have a gift for you yet!"  
  
"It's ok, guys." Rei smiled. "You don't have to get me anything. I don't need a present from anybody." The guys let it drop and Rei stepped up with Max to test their skills.  
  
***  
  
Later that evening (when Kai decided they had had enough practicing), Takao insisted on breaking in Rei's new swim suit and dragged them all to the nearest hot springs. Kai claimed he was only going to relax and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't do anything stupid. They went into the changing stalls to pull their trunks on and one by one they waded into the steaming water.  
  
Takao floated on his back with a serene look on his face and even Kai had his eyes closed and a small smile played on his features. The water was so warm and refreshing it would make the tensest person forget their worries until they left. Max looked around and noticed that Rei hadn't yet left the stalls.  
  
"Hey Rei!" he called.  
  
"Yeah?" Rei replied softly.  
  
"What's taking so long? Does your swimsuit not fit?" Max chuckled.  
  
"No, it fits perfectly well." Rei answered. Max sighed.  
  
"Then what are you still doing in the changing rooms?"  
  
"Um... nothing I guess. I'll come out now." He sighed and came out of the room. He was wearing his new suit and had his hair out of its wrap, hoping to hide his marks from everyone else. He slipped into the water and waded over to the others. He found a seat beside Max and Kai (who wouldn't sit anywhere nearer to them) and sighed as the warmth spread over his body. He donned his own carefree smile and closed his eyes, leaning back against the rock.  
  
"Rei, what are those marks on your neck?" Kenny asked, causing Rei to slip into the spring and come back up coughing and sputtering.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked. "What marks?"  
  
"Those ones." Kenny pointed to his neck and shoulders. Rei looked down and couldn't see anything. "Takao, could you find me a mirror?" Takao nodded and waded to his clothes bag and produced a small pocket mirror. He waded back to the group and handed it to Rei. Rei looked in it and gasped. There were tons of little red hickeys running up and down his neck. He sweat dropped when he saw Kai's smug expression and smirk through the reflection of the mirror over his shoulder. He had to do some quick thinking.  
  
"Um... I think I might have fallen asleep on something." He winced at how horrible a lie that was, but they all seemed to buy it. Except Max who peered closer.  
  
"What about those teeth marks?" he asked. "There's one that looks like it tore skin too."  
  
"I don't know how that could have happened." He hoped Max would believe his lies. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Kai was beginning to fidget with all of Max's questions. He even had a tint of red painted across his cheeks.  
  
"Oh, okay." Max exclaimed and turned to Takao. "Wanna see something cool?" he asked and proceeded to take a deep breath and dunk his head under the water. He came up about a minute later, gasping for breath. Takao scoffed.  
  
"Is that it?" he laughed. "I could hold my breath longer than you."  
  
"Yeah, right." Max retorted. "I dare you to try!"  
  
"Fine!" and they began their little competition with Kenny as the score keeper. This ended with a lot of dry clothing getting wet. Takao and Max stopped for a moment and looked at their little disaster area. Not even Kai, who had purposely stayed as far away from them as possible, had dry hair. His hair was dripping water and his triangles were smudging. Takao looked over to Rei who was sitting over beside Kai and had his back to them all, with his head in his arms. He appeared to be asleep. Then they saw their clothes.  
  
"Uh oh." Max whispered. He realized that if they didn't run back to the lodge quickly their clothes, which were soaked in warm water, would freeze and they'd have nothing to wear back. "I think we should head back now, guys." Rei looked over to the soggy pile of clothes and snickered.  
  
"I'm gonna stay for a while." He announced. "My clothes aren't wet and are still in the changing stalls." Kai nodded his head.  
  
"Mine are behind a bush over here." He exclaimed. Rei turned back to his previous position. "We'll come back later."  
  
"Okay." Takao waved goodbye as the others pulled on their soaked clothing and ran back to the cabin to dry off.  
  
Kai shifted closer to Rei, who looked like he was asleep again, and leaned in to his ear. "I'm sorry about the marks." He whispered, knowing full well that Rei was only pretending to sleep. Rei shifted his head so he was resting on his other cheek and looked at Kai.  
  
"I never said I cared about the marks." He grinned, flashing his own canines. "I don't care what the others think either." Kai smiled, but moved back to his seat.  
  
Rei lifted his head from his arms and moved closer to Kai. He scooped a handful of warm water and brought it to Kai's face. Kai looked at him questioningly, but didn't say a word.  
  
"I don't care for these marks either." Rei whispered and washed off Kai's face paint. When Kai's face was clear he smiled and took Kai's face in his hands, pulling it up to meet his. He sat down right in Kai's lap and brought his hands to his slate hair, pulling him closer.  
  
Kai was the first one to break the passionate kiss and looked directly at Rei.  
  
"I'm not going to suck your blood." He stated, frowning slightly. Rei smiled at him and nodded before cocking his head to the right a little.  
  
"So?" he grinned and pulled Kai back into the kiss. Kai was surprised for a moment but began kissing back, beginning a battle for dominance. Kai brought his hands to Rei's hips and rocked him once, causing Rei to tilt his head back and moan in pleasure. This gave Kai supremacy and he pushed Rei hard against the rocks, bringing Rei's mouth back to his. Rei broke the kiss for a second.  
  
"Cheater." He growled and brought his head back up to Kai's. Kai grinned at this and made no move to deny it. He brought his hands from Rei's waist and moved them slowly up his abs and to his chest. Rei wrapped his arms tighter around Kai's neck, wanting to keep the contact of flesh on flesh. Kai moved his hand up to Rei's neck and felt his fingers sift through Rei's long black hair, while the other wrapped around Rei's back, pressing their skin closer together.  
  
Rei began to fight against Kai's hold on him and leant away from the rocks. Kai pushed back, but Rei wouldn't let him. He moved so that Kai was sitting in the water and Rei was straddling his hips on top. He broke the kiss for a moment and lifted his body above Kai's for a moment, his raven hair fell like a curtain around them, and he smiled. It wasn't a lust-filled one, or a smug one, it was a naturally happy smile. Kai gasped for breath.  
  
"You're so damn beautiful." Kai whispered, taking in all of Rei's body (including the black swimsuit that was half submerged in water). Rei's smile broadened and he fell into Kai's embrace.  
  
***  
  
Rei got dressed in his changing stall and wrung out his hair. He decided not to wrap it and threw the towel over his shoulders. He saw Kai waiting for him, leaning on a tree with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He sighed when he noticed that Kai had put the triangles back on his face.  
  
He walked up to Kai and grasped his cheek in his palm. Kai slowly opened his eyes and stared at Rei.  
  
"Why do you keep the triangles?" Rei asked, tilting his head to the side. "They make you look untouchable."  
  
"That's the point." Kai grumbled back and leaned into Rei. "For people to leave me alone." He pressed his lips to Rei's and both of them closed their eyes. Rei furrowed his brows and broke the kiss.  
  
"Then that's what I'll do." He said softly and walked back in the direction of the lodge. Kai's mixed signals were making his head hurt. He didn't know if Kai wanted him or not. Kai followed slowly, trying to think of how fix things between him and Rei without making himself look pathetic. He wanted Rei's touches but he didn't like making a fool of himself. The Bladebreakers had already seen through too many barriers already and he was so used to hiding his emotions from everyone else that it became like second nature to him. It was so easy for him that most times he hid his feelings from himself, too.  
  
He sighed watching Rei walk into the lodge and he followed close behind.  
  
"Where have you guys been?" Takao called. Kai shot him a withering glare, which he pointedly ignored. "We tried to wait for you but you took too long, so we ate without you." He grinned. Max and Kenny sweat dropped.  
  
"He waited ten minutes before calling for delivery." Max explained. Rei laughed at Takao's upset look.  
  
"I didn't see you refuse a slice." He retorted. Max laughed nervously.  
  
"It's okay, I'm not hungry anyways." Rei exclaimed. "And I'm sorry for making you guys wait for so long. I was enjoying the water so much I must have lost track of time." He blushed, remembering what really happened and walked to his and Kai's room.  
  
"I'm a bit tired so I'll see you all in the morning." He waved to everyone and slipped into the room.  
  
Kai snorted at Takao, who was looking at him, waiting for an explanation. He didn't think they deserved to know what he had been doing. He put his wet swimsuit near the heater and followed Rei to their room.  
  
He quietly shut the door and looked to Rei. He was ignoring Kai as he slipped his shoes off and threw the covers over himself. He rolled to his side so he wasn't facing Kai and tried to go to sleep. Kai sighed and changed into a loose shirt and boxers then he peeled back his covers and slid into bed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Rei." He whispered, not knowing if Rei was still awake or not and drifted off to sleep.  
  
Rei rolled over and looked at Kai's sleeping form. He smiled softly and closed his eyes, too, falling asleep instantly.  
  
~Finis  
  
Unfortunately the next chapter is unnaturally short (for me) and as a result the fourth chapter will be posted quite soon after it. Therefore I'll be posting the chapter titles for both chappies.  
  
Chapter 3: One Day of Boredom (very big understatement)  
  
Chapter 4: A Chibi Birthday (OR The Neko-jin Problem)  
  
Please review!!  
  
And I'd like to say thank you to Angel. Actually, I was planning on becoming an author when I get out of school. I love writing fan fiction and so far I don't think I've really gotten a flame about how crappy my style of writing is... (just pairing... and that wasn't even a flame... more like a suggestion). I hope you continue to enjoy my fics and if I ever get a book out I hope people like that one too. 


	3. One Day of Boredom

I had a part in this story where I make fun of Takao (something about lightning... heh heh) but I can't find it now! It was supposed to be a joke for my friend, cause she didn't like Takao that much... something about being stupid and fat, etc. So if you see it don't mind it... it's not really supposed to be there. And if by chance you see it and think it's funny too... my my, then I pity you... heh heh just kidding.  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter 3: One Day of Boredom  
  
***  
  
When Rei woke up in the morning, Kenny, Max and Takao had gone out shopping (for a birthday present for Rei) and Kai was in the kitchen cooking some breakfast. He quickly put his clothes on and walked into the kitchen. Smiling, he sniffed the air and looked over Kai's shoulder to see what he was making.  
  
Kai flinched at Rei's presence and moved away slightly. Rei backed away, hurt, and went back to his room to take Driger off of the night stand. He returned to the kitchen table to find the food already laid out and Kai eating silently. He sat down across from him and picked up his chopsticks. Kai had his head down and didn't make any motion to say he knew Rei was even in the room. When he finished his plate he took it through and washed it off. Rei watched as he grabbed his coat from the hook and walk out the door, not bothering to say a word.  
  
Rei coked on a sob and looked down at his plate. The food hadn't been touched and he didn't feel much like eating anyways. He pushed the plate away from him and went to the couch.  
  
After flipping through the channels he rested on a stupid cartoon and closed his eyes. He tried to think of a reason why Kai would just walk out on him, but came up empty handed. He sighed and looked at the clock. It was only 11:00 am and he had a feeling he would be all alone for most of the day. He sighed again and went through to his room, hoping to get a little bit of sleep.  
  
***  
  
For most of the day Rei slept and when he wasn't sleeping he was practicing his Beyblading skills, until finally at around six Takao, Max and Kenny came back.  
  
"You'll never guess who we saw in town today." He gushed to Rei who was crashed out on the couch. He put his bags beside his room door before plopping down beside Rei.  
  
"Who did you see?" Rei asked, his voice monotonous. He didn't much care, only glad for the company.  
  
"Kai." Takao exclaimed. "He was wandering around the village." He told Rei, explaining how Kai had walked past them on their way into a shop. He didn't even look up when he nearly knocked Takao down.  
  
"Oh, really." Rei said softly, feigning interest.  
  
"How come you stayed here instead of going with him?" Max asked eagerly. Rei looked up at him with a sombre expression.  
  
"He never really asked me." He replied. The others looked at him in shock. "I'm going to go to my room, so if you need me, you know where to find me." He stood up from the couch and walked to his room. Max was still staring in the spot where Rei was sitting. He seemed to be depressed about something, but since they had all left early in the morning no one had a clue what was bothering Rei.  
  
***  
  
While Rei slept peacefully in his room, Takao, Max and Kenny had fun wrapping the presents they bought for Rei's birthday.  
  
"Pass the tape, Max." Takao ordered, frowning over his box. Max looked up from his neat box and frowned.  
  
"You've already used a whole two rolls of tape already." He complained. "What's the point of using wrapping paper if the whole thing is going to be covered in tape anyways."  
  
"Because then he'd be able to see what my present is." Takao retorted, sticking out his tongue.  
  
"It's in a box, Takao. Unless he has x-ray vision, he'll never tell what's inside."  
  
"Yeah, well it's also tradition to wrap a present."  
  
"Not in tape it isn't." Takao crossed his arms and huffed.  
  
"Fine if you aren't going to give me the tape then I'm not going to talk to you." He snorted and turned his back on Max, crossing his arms. Max's eyes widened when he heard Takao say this. Takao was so stubborn that the last time he vowed not to speak to Max it had been three weeks until he could get Takao to even say hi to him. He winced at the thought of going through the whole Asian tournament without talking to Takao. He picked up the tape that he had been using and threw it at Takao's head. It bounced off the top and landed in front of him. Kenny had been watching the TV and let out a snicker, seeing Takao rub his sore head. He turned around and shot a glare at both Kenny and Max.  
  
"That hurt!" he cried. Max snickered.  
  
"Well at least you're still talking to me, even if you're a little bruised up."  
  
***  
  
Rei groaned and opened his eyes. He found he couldn't sleep and listening to Takao's arguments with Kenny and Max was getting boring. He slipped through the window with his Beyblade and made his way to the edge of the forest. He pulled his blade from his pocket and aimed it at a tree. After readying it he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He decided he'd only practice until he felt a little more tired. It took ten minutes before he curled up in the grass and fell asleep to the sound of his whirling Beyblade.  
  
***  
  
When Kai finally returned to the lodge the sun had been gone for nearly three hours and the stars were shining brightly. He walked into the main hall and saw Takao and Max curled up on the sofa and Kenny sleeping with his head resting on the kitchen table. It seemed they had conked out where ever they had been at the moment. He took off his coat and threw it over a chair. He went through to the bedroom, assuming Rei had been smart and be found asleep under the covers of his bed.  
  
He slowly opened the door and peaked in. the beds had been made and no one was in either of them. He felt a draft and saw that the window had been left open. He walked over to it, beginning to worry about Rei's whereabouts when he saw a piece of metal reflecting in the grass, near the forest. He hopped out the window and jogged out to the object.  
  
He sighed to find Rei curled up beside a rock and his Beyblade lying on its side mirroring the light from the lodge. He leaned down and placed a small kiss on the sleeping boy's cheek before gathering his body in his arms and pocketing the blade. He walked slowly back to the lodge and climbed back in through the window. He pulled back Rei's bed sheets and placed him under the covers. He brushed Rei's hair out of his face and stared at him for a second.  
  
It broke his heart earlier that morning to see Rei so torn, but he was still mixed up about how he felt for him, and he had to find a way to get out to the village alone. He didn't want the surprise to be ruined for Rei in the morning.  
  
~Finis  
  
I was so stuck for ideas on this chapter so I apologise for the crappy short chapter (just over a thousand words). I needed to keep Rei's birthday all in one chapter, meaning that the next chapter will be extra long to make up for this lame one. Heh heh. Chapter four will be posted two (count them. 1, 2) days after this one.  
  
And because it's so damn short I'm obliged to give you a long preview (call them what you will... they'll always be teasers to me):  
  
Chapter 4: A Chibi Birthday (OR the Neko-jin Problem)  
  
"Kai-san hates me." Rei replied in a voice that was slightly higher than Kai remembered it to be.  
  
"Why would you say that?" he asked, wondering what would give Rei the impression he hated him. The cat sniffed once more in an effort to silence the sobs.  
  
"You were angry with me yesterday." He replied. "You left me all by myself." He broke into another sob and hid his face in his paws.  
  
"I'm sorry Rei-chan. I don't hate you." Kai explained. He patted Rei on the head lightly.  
  
"'Sokay." Rei looked back to Kai, his tears gone and stopped crying.  
  
"Why would you care if I hated you?" Kai asked. The little Neko looked outraged and crossed his paws over his chest.  
  
"Of course I care!" he exclaimed, hotly. "My heart would break into teeny pieces if you hated me." Kai was shocked.  
  
"Why would your heart break?" he inquired, hoping to get to the core of Rei's feelings for him.  
  
"Because I love you lots." Rei stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"You do?" Kai stammered. He hadn't thought the small cat would get straight to the point so quickly.  
  
"Hai." The Neko smiled proudly. "Why would I kiss you the way I do if I didn't love you?" he asked. He tilted his head to the side a bit and looked pointedly at Kai. He just smiled and didn't answer Rei's question.  
  
***  
  
No one noticed Kai's glare now because his lids were so narrow no one could see his eyes. He stood up suddenly, attracting attention, and stormed to his room. Rei looked at his retreating form and tears came to his eyes. He sniffed loudly in hopes that it would make Kai turn around, but Kai acted like he didn't even hear him. He wiped his eyes and began to sob.  
  
"Maybe he was feeling left out." Kenny told Rei. Rei stopped sobbing for a moment and looked up at Kenny.  
  
"You think?" he asked. Kenny nodded. Rei was about to leap off the couch when Kai returned holding a large square box. It was covered in wrapping paper and had a large red bow on the top. Rei shot down and raced over to Kai, wailing. He grabbed hold of his pant leg tightly and began yelling at Kai for disappearing. Kai looked down and smiled. He leaned down and handed Rei the box...  
  
That's it!! Please Review or e-mail me... (firebird_dranzer@hotmail.com)  
  
Ja ne.  
  
(GOMEN NASAI!!! DON'T KILL MEH!!) 


	4. A Chibi Birthday or the Nekojin Problem

See! Two days! Exactly!  
  
Ok, one thing before I continue. Because I don't really discuss it in future chapters, I have to explain why Kai was being an asshole. He's not really sure how to tell Rei how he feels, so he's trying to distance himself from Rei till he can be able to say what he really feels. Also... the reason he was ignoring Rei in the last chapter was because he wanted to be alone without Rei following him. And for the reason for that, you'll just have to read on...  
  
Just so you know this is a very long chapter. Lots of shit happens in this one. Oh, and Rei's not the only Neko-jin in this story. I'm not pointing any fingers but I'm just going to say I don't do well with OC and if I have any they aren't named (most of the time). This Neko-jin is a friend. That's all I'll say for that.  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter 4: A Chibi Birthday (OR The Neko-jin Problem)  
  
***  
  
Kai woke up in the morning with a light weight on his chest. He rubbed his eyes and looked down to find a small lump in the sheets. It looked like someone put a ball under his covers. He lifted back the blankets and found a mess of raven hair, accentuated by a pair of pure white cat ears.  
  
He frowned for a moment before sitting up and holding the thing in front of him. The creature squirmed a bit in his grasp before yawning and opening its wide amber eyes. The cat-chibi looked at Kai for a few moments before his lip began to quiver and he let out a soft whimper. Kai looked the child over and his eyes widened.  
  
"Rei?" he asked. The kitten looked up at him, still sniffling and had tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. "What's wrong?" Kai asked, setting him down in his lap.  
  
"Kai-san hates me." Rei replied in a voice that was slightly higher than Kai remembered it to be.  
  
"Why would you say that?" he asked, wondering what would give Rei the impression he hated him. The cat sniffed once more in an effort to silence the sobs.  
  
"You were angry with me yesterday." He replied. "You left me all by myself." He broke into another sob and hid his face in his paws.  
  
"I'm sorry Rei-chan. I don't hate you." Kai explained. He patted Rei on the head lightly. "'Sokay." Rei looked back to Kai, his tears gone and stopped crying.  
  
"Why would you care if I hated you?" Kai asked. The little Neko looked outraged and crossed his paws over his chest.  
  
"Of course I care!" he exclaimed, hotly. "My heart would break into teeny pieces if you hated me." Kai was shocked.  
  
"Why would your heart break?" he inquired, hoping to get to the core of Rei's feelings for him.  
  
"Because I love you lots." Rei stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"You do?" Kai stammered. He hadn't thought the small cat would get straight to the point so quickly.  
  
"Hai." The Neko smiled proudly. "Why would I kiss you the way I do if I didn't love you?" he asked. He tilted his head to the side a bit and looked pointedly at Kai. He just smiled and didn't answer Rei's question.  
  
"Aishiteru, Rei-chan." He whispered quietly and kissed the kitten on the nose. Rei giggled at the touch and grinned.  
  
"Me too, Kai-san."  
  
"Um... why are you a cat chibi?" Kai asked, directing Rei's attention to the more important issues. Rei looked down at his body and noted the stripped tail and the furry paws. He wrinkled his nose at Kai and shrugged.  
  
"I don't know." He answered. "Before my mommy and daddy died they told me I was Neko-jin." Kai thought about this and nodded.  
  
"Your immortal blood must have been unleashed on your birthday." At the mention of birthday, Rei's face lit up and he tuned into Kai's words.  
  
"Yup. It's my birthday today... but I don't really think I'm supposed to be a chibi. No one ever told me about being a chibi too." Kai nodded and stood from his bed. He pointed a finger at the little cat and looked at him sternly.  
  
"You stay here. I'll ask Kenny about this." He went to the door and left the room, making sure the door was properly shut. Rei was too short to be able to reach up to the handle to open it himself.  
  
He went to Kenny's room and knocked lightly on the door.  
  
"Kenny, may I ask you something?" he called, opening the door ajar a little bit. Kenny was still fast asleep. Kai walked into the room and shook Kenny awake.  
  
"What is it?" Kenny mumbled, reaching for his glasses. "Kai? What are you doing here?" Kai crossed his arms firmly across his chest in an attempt to look serious.  
  
"I need you to tell me everything you can on Neko-jin transformations." Kai informed.  
  
"Neko-jins?" Kenny thought for a moment. "You mean people who turn into cats?"  
  
"Hai." Kenny mumbled something to himself and pulled out his laptop. He typed a few keys and in seconds the information came up.  
  
"Neko-jin are said to be able to transform at will into a cat form. Their changes don't occur until the day of their sixteenth birthday in which they spend the entire day in the form of a cat. After this, Neko-jin must transform once a month for 24 hours full unless they become rabid and uncontrollable." He read from the site he got it from.  
  
"What about odd transformations?" Kai asked. Kenny scrolled down further.  
  
"If the Neko-jin is weakened or injured at the time of their transformation they most likely are stuck in mid-transformation." He looked up, curiously at Kai. "Why did you wake me up at six in the morning to find out about this?" he asked, just as a blur of black and white pushed it's way into the room, launched itself onto Kenny's bed and began hopping. Kenny's gaze widened when he saw the creature. Kai just covered his eyes and groaned. Rei stopped jumping on the bed and looked up at Kai.  
  
"What's wrong, Kai-san?" he asked in as cute a voice as he could manage.  
  
"You were supposed to stay in our room." Kai lectured the chibi. "That's why the door was shut... wait a minute... how'd you get out?" he looked suspiciously at Rei. Rei smiled sweetly and thrusted his hands behind him in an effort to look cute.  
  
"I got a chair and pushed it to the wall beside the door and *Poof!* I opened the door." He grinned at his own cleverness. Kenny was still adjusting his glasses.  
  
"Rei?" he asked. "Is that you?" Rei turned around and bowed to his friend.  
  
"Aa."  
  
"Is this why you asked, Kai?" he turned to Kai who sighed.  
  
"Hai." Kenny smiled at the cat.  
  
"I never would have suspected Rei to be a Neko-jin, but it is his birthday today." Kai nodded and picked Rei up off the bed.  
  
"Hai. Thank you for the information. I'll let you get back to sleep." Kai turned and walked to the door, but Kenny's voice stopped him.  
  
"Kai? Do you know what caused Rei to become weak?" he asked, still smiling at Rei.  
  
"He lost some blood the other day." He told Kenny.  
  
"Oh, okay." Rei perked up and beamed at Kenny.  
  
"Yeah, me's giving blood to Kai-san." He exclaimed. "He was really sick and me saved him." Kai was shocked.  
  
"Rei!?" he cried. The kitten looked up at Kai in confusion.  
  
"What?" he asked. "Oh... me's not supposed to tell Kai-san's secret. Sowwie." His ears fell to his head and he leaned down in shame. Kai sighed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"I'm a vampire." He told Kenny, wanting him to know the whole truth. "The morning Rei found me I had collapsed from lack of blood. I had tried to sneak out to the blood bank to get some but fainted before I could get anywhere." Kenny looked at the pair, surprise plastered on his face.  
  
"But... how?" he asked.  
  
"All the myths about us are crap." He answered. Kenny was still looking at him warily. "I was turned by my grandfather. He forced me to bite one of our servants, but I've never bitten another person since... until Rei." Rei grinned, glad he wasn't in trouble.  
  
"But Kai-san never turned me!" he cheered. "He says it's cause I'm a Neko- jin. Immortals don't turn."  
  
"If you're thinking I'm going to bite you, you're mistaken." Kai decided to settle Kenny's fright. "I don't drink blood straight from people, and I won't turn someone or kill them." Kenny thought for a moment.  
  
"Then how have you survived without blood?" he asked.  
  
"I visit a blood bank every now and then. I can go up to a month and a half without a drink." Kenny's gaze went to the discarded newspaper on the nightstand.  
  
"Was the recent break in... you?" he asked, trying to stay on Kai's good side.  
  
"No, someone beat me to it." Kai lowered his gaze.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I'll take Rei back to our room and let you sleep some more." He nodded to Kenny and went to the door.  
  
"You know his transformation will last for a full day at least." Kenny added. Kai looked back and nodded.  
  
"The others might not find out about you but they'll find out about him." Kai nodded again and opened the door again.  
  
"Then let them." He said softly and walked back out of the room and headed to his own. He sat down in his bed and looked down at chibi Neko-jin Rei. He was fast asleep on his chest. Kai smiled inwardly and closed his eyes, too. It wasn't long before Kai was fast asleep.  
  
***  
  
When Kai awoke later that morning the first thing he noticed was that Rei had disappeared. He searched all over the room, but found no sign of him. The door was open a crack so he assumed Rei must be elsewhere in the cabin. He wandered out to the living room and the first thing he saw was Rei.  
  
The second and third things were Takao and Max with Rei. They seemed to be playing monkey-in-the-middle with a ball of string and Rei pouncing back and forth between them, pawing at the loose ends. He had to admit that it did look pretty cute. Kenny was sitting in an armchair with his laptop and waved good morning.  
  
"Kai-san!" Rei cried out in glee and raced over to him. He jumped into Kai's arms and began to lick his face.  
  
"How come you left?" Kai asked, his tone dead serious. Rei sniffed and began to make his lip quiver. Kai softened and shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry for getting angry." He tried to soothe the cat. "I'm not really mad. I was just worried. A bit." Rei smiled and licked his cheek shyly again.  
  
Takao was struck with an idea (And died immediately from electric shock) and went through to his room to get something. Kai and Rei don't even notice. Kai sat down on a recliner and Rei curled up in his lap. When Takao returned he was carrying their presents. Rei's face lit up when he saw them and immediately sat up straight. He had a slightly lop-sided grin on his face.  
  
He handed each present to the one who wrapped it and gave his messy one to Rei first. Rei gave a squeal of delight and shook the box lightly. With his chibi form the box was easily as big as him.  
  
"Happy birthday, Rei-chan." Takao grinned and sat on the sofa beside Max. Rei gave another happy cry and ripped into the wrapping. Paper flew everywhere as Rei got down to the box itself.  
  
He lifted the lid of the box and pulled out a new headband and a pair of fingerless black fighting gloves. On the backs of them and in the center of the black headband was a green Yin-Yang symbol.  
  
"Sugoi!!" he squealed and jumped down from Kai's lap and ran over to Takao. He climbed up to Takao's lap and flooded him with hugs and licks of delight. Takao laughed heartily and hugged Rei back.  
  
"You're welcome." He giggled. Kai narrowed his eyes at the pair, unnoticed by anyone else.  
  
Max leaned over and handed Rei his neater present. It was much bigger than Takao's and a lot heavier. Rei dragged it over to Kai's feet and tore into the wrapping.  
  
He pulled out a bunch of smaller boxes without wrapping. He opened the first one and pulled out a black terry-cloth towel with a tiger in the corner that matched his trunks from the White Tigers. He smiled giddily and opened another box. In this one he found a picture frame with a picture of the entire Bladebreakers team. He smiled fondly when he saw Kai blushing slightly because Rei had his arm draped his arm over his shoulders and he was hugging him tightly. Placed in the corner of the frame was a small calling card with a few thousand yen on it. He looked up at Max questioningly.  
  
"I thought you could use it during the tournament to make calls home." Rei nodded knowingly and squealed. He turned on the last box and opened it. It held a small pocket calendar with tons of tiger pictures on it. Rei chuckled in delight and enveloped Max in the same treatment that he had given Takao. Kai's eyes narrowed even further. He glared at Max before turning away from the scene.  
  
Kenny tapped Rei on the shoulder and handed him the last present. It was small but terribly heavy and rattled when Rei shook it. Rei gave him a perplexed look and carefully unwrapped the box. When he pulled off the lid he gasped in shock. Inside the box was hundreds of spare blade parts and right in the middle of them all was a silver chain. He pulled it out and looked to Kenny.  
  
"What's this for?" he asked, holding it up for Kenny to see. Kenny smiled.  
  
"It's a chain for you to hang your bit-chip around your neck." He replied and picked up Driger to show. He dug out the beast and clipped it to the chain. Rei smiled and put the necklace on.  
  
"Sugoi!!" he whispered and tackled Kenny with hugs and licks. Kenny laughed and patted Rei on the back. No one noticed Kai's glare now because his lids were so narrow no one could see his eyes. He stood up suddenly, attracting attention, and stormed to his room. Rei looked at his retreating form and tears came to his eyes. He sniffed loudly in hopes that it would make Kai turn around, but Kai acted like he didn't even hear him. He wiped his eyes and began to sob.  
  
"Maybe he was feeling left out." Kenny told Rei. Rei stopped sobbing for a moment and looked up at Kenny.  
  
"You think?" he asked. Kenny nodded. Rei was about to leap off the couch when Kai returned holding a large square box. It was covered in wrapping paper and had a large red bow on the top. Rei shot down and raced over to Kai, wailing. He grabbed hold of his pant leg tightly and began yelling at Kai for disappearing. Kai looked down and smiled. He leaned down and handed Rei the box. Rei was caught off guard and just stared at the gift. He took it and placed it beside him on the ground.  
  
He lifted the gift-wrapped lid and discovered a box filled with tissue paper. He began digging through the box until he came to the real present. He pulled out a large, plush, stuffed, white tiger kitten. It had two shining amber eyes and a small ID bracelet around its neck that said 'REI' in bold letters. His mouth dropped open and he stared in awe at Kai. Kai smiled and crouched beside him. He unhooked the bracelet and handed it to Rei so he could read what was on the back. It said: "Happy Birthday, Rei- chan. Aishiteru, Kai. 2004." Rei turned his face to Kai after reading it and his expression of shock turned into sheer joy. He calmly climbed onto Kai's lap and gave him a tight hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he leant in farther and gave his ear a teasing nip.  
  
"Hey!" Kai exclaimed. Rei giggled playfully. Kai grinned back and pulled out another box for Rei. It was small and fit nicely in the palm of Rei's hand. Rei opened the lid of this one and pulled out a long silver chain with "Tiger" written in Japanese as the ornament attached to it. He pulled it over his head and it dragged on the floor. He looked up at Kai with an unreadable expression on his face.  
  
"I wish I was normal size so I could thank you properly." He whispered to Kai and smiled shyly.  
  
Suddenly he shot up like a bolt of lightning and was now full size again and sitting in Kai's lap. He looked at himself and noticed he still had paws, cat ears and a now long and sleek tiger tail. Everyone stared at him in surprise.  
  
"It must be a side effect from the weakened transformation." Kenny spoke up. Kai nodded but Rei just grinned. He wasn't going to waste his time with his granted wish. He slid off of Kai's lap and grinned slyly at him. Kai sweat dropped at his expression and leaned back just a bit. He didn't trust the mischievous glint in Rei's eyes.  
  
Rei launched himself at Kai as hard and as fast as he could and tackled him to the floor they were already sitting on. He flooded Kai's senses with kiss after kiss until his lips finally locked with Kai's. Kai was surprised at this but kissed back with as much enthusiasm, ignoring the other people in the room. Kai wrapped his arms around Rei's waist and pressed their bodies together.  
  
Takao and Max were thoroughly shocked, but Kenny assumed from his earlier encounter with the pair that there was something going on between them. Rei broke the passionate kiss, panting slightly.  
  
"Thank you for the gifts." He whispered to Kai. He looked down to see Kai grinning like mad.  
  
"No, thank you for that." Kai replied. Rei stood up and looked at himself properly. His long tiger tail and white ears were twitch on their own and he sniffed the air unconsciously.  
  
"Did my wish do this?" he wondered aloud. Kai looked bewildered and shrugged at the question.  
  
"Probably not." He answered. Rei smiled, not really caring and turned to his friends.  
  
"Thank you all so much for making this one of the best birthdays I've ever had." He glanced at Kai and gave him a wink. "I'm hungry, does anyone else want some cereal?" he offered. They all shook their heads. They had all eaten before he got up. He turned and walked to the kitchen.  
  
"Nice tail." Kai grinned, still sitting on the floor, his voice playful. Rei stopped and turned to look at him for a second. He shot him a glare and bared his fangs slightly. When he continued walking he gave his movements a bit more sway to emphasize his swaying tail.  
  
"I like my tail, it's beautiful." He commented as he entered the kitchen.  
  
"You're one vain little kitty." Kai laughed. Rei poked his head through the doorway and stuck out his tongue to Kai. Then he turned up his nose and went back to getting his cereal. He pulled out a box from a shelf and sat on the counter, munching on the little handfuls he pulled straight from the box.  
  
***  
  
Kai stood up and wiped off imaginary dust from his pants. He looked scornfully at the mess of paper Rei left in his wake and sighed. Takao and Max were already tidying up the presents and crumpling the large pieces of wrapping paper in little balls and throwing them at each other.  
  
They all stopped what they were doing when they heard a muffled wail come from the kitchen. Only Rei was in there. They all decided to investigate and found chibi Rei sitting on the top of the counter, legs dangling over the edge, and his head stuck in the box of cereal he had been eating. He had his paws on the opening and was pushing with all his might, but the box wouldn't move. He let out another wail and called Kai's name.  
  
"Hey, Rei." Kai spoke up. He stopped Rei's efforts and told him to stay still. "Turn your head to the side." He instructed. Rei did so, and the box slid off easily. He stopped crying and looked down past his knees. He sniffed one last time and held out his arms to Kai.  
  
"I can't get down." He exclaimed and smiled shyly. Kai rolled his eyes and took Rei into his arms.  
  
"It must be the fluctuations in his blood levels." Kenny spoke up. Everyone blinked at him and his use of big words. Kai shrugged in disinterest. He turned to look at Takao who was pulling faces for Rei.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked. Takao looked up.  
  
"Trying to make him laugh." He said as if it were obvious. "Boo!" he tried a scary face. Rei pulled his own face and looked up at Kai.  
  
"Why is 'Kao acting like a baka?" he asked. Kai smirked and shrugged.  
  
"One of life's mysteries." He guessed. Takao face faulted. Max and Kenny burst out laughing.  
  
"You are looking more cat-like than when you were a chibi the first time." Max pointed out when the laughter had died down. Kenny and Takao nodded. Rei smiled and snuggled into Kai's arms, nestling down like the Neko-jin he was. He let out a quick yawn and fell asleep.  
  
***  
  
When Rei woke up later that day to find he had been put back to bed. He walked through to the living room to find the lodge empty. He heard shouts coming from outside and letting his curiosity get the best of him, he investigated. He peeked outside and found Max and Takao having a practice battle with Kai and Kenny watching them. Kai was standing near the cabin with his back to Rei.  
  
Trying to be as quiet as possible, Rei tiptoed over to Kai and squatted behind his legs. He then began swatting at Kai's long white scarf, flinging it back and forth. Kai felt his scarf moving and turned around to see Rei. Rei smiled sweetly and held up his hands for Kai to pick him up. Kai bent down and pulled Rei into his arms. Rei scrambled out of his grasp and crawled onto his shoulders to get a better view of the match. He had to lean over Kai's head to hold down his hair.  
  
"Okay, Kai." Takao announced when him and Max had finished their match. "It's your turn."  
  
"I wanna blade too." Rei whined and knocked lightly on Kai's head to attract his attention. Kai shook his head. He felt Rei was at an unfair disadvantage facing Kai.  
  
"Why not, Kai?" Rei asked. "I can still blade. Just you watch... I'm gonna beat you with my eyes closed." He retorted and jumped off Kai's shoulders. Kai sighed and stepped up to the dish. Takao began the countdown.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One. Let it RIP!!" he cried and they both launched their blades. Rei stayed true to his word and closed his eyes. A serene smile made its way onto Rei's face as he began to rock side to side, in rhythm with his blade. Kai started to get a little nervous, not wanting to beat Rei unfairly. Dranzer swerved to avoid colliding with Driger. Suddenly out of nowhere Driger began zipping around the dish and bouncing off the sides. Both blader and bit-beast were taken by surprise when Driger purposely slammed into Dranzer on every few bounces. The attacks were so random that Kai could do nothing but defend. He looked up to se a smirk cross Rei's face, though his eyes never opened.  
  
"Dranzer, attack!" he cried, trying to save some face in his match. The corner of Rei's mouth twitched as Dranzer tried in vain to cause the tiger some damage, but Driger managed to swerve around and hit the phoenix. Again, and again, and again. Kai was getting frustrated, seeing that Dranzer was loosing steam and called on his final attack.  
  
"Go, Dranzer!" he called, but Dranzer couldn't take anymore and rolled to a stop in the centre of the dish. Rei meowed in joy and pumped a fist into the air at his win.  
  
"How'd you do it?" Kai asked, picking up his blade. Driger jumped back to Rei and the chibi looked at Kai and shrugged.  
  
"I'm a tiger like him." He guessed and cracked a smile. Kai was stunned. Rei hadn't opened his eyes or spoken a word during the entire match.  
  
Suddenly a knock sounded from the door. Kai was startled out of his stupor and looked worriedly at Rei.  
  
"Go to our room until I get rid of these people." He ordered. He didn't want to have to explain what Rei was doing as half a child and half cat. Rei's ears flattened to his head and he slunk down the hall. Kai opened the door to reveal the White Tiger team.  
  
"Hey, Kai!" Li greeted. Kai grunted, but refused to open the door to invite them in.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked, snippily. His rudeness didn't seem to faze them.  
  
"It's Rei's birthday, baka." Mariah exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "We're here to say 'happy birthday'. That's what friends do." She threw the last one in Kai's face, knowing how anti-social Kai was likely to be after two years.  
  
"And we came to see if Rei got our gifts." Kevin added, poking his head out from behind Gary.  
  
"He's not here right now, but I'll tell him you came. I'm sure he liked his gifts very much." He moved to shut the door rudely in their faces, when a little, white blur rushed past him for the second time that day, spoiling his lies. Rei bounded out the door and jumped straight into Li's arms.  
  
Li was stunned, but laughed heartily when Rei gave him a lick on the cheek. Kai narrowed his eyes at Rei's display of affection. Mariah gave a squeal when she saw how cute Rei was. Max pushed past Kai and invited them all in, since they now knew about chibi Neko-jin Rei. Kai took Rei from Li's grasp as the pulled their bags into the lodge. Rei was surprised at Kai's harshness and began to sniff.  
  
"Li!" he wailed before breaking into heart-wrenching sobs. Kai immediately felt awful and handed Rei back to Li. Rei stopped crying and looked to Kai to thank him, but stopped when he saw the conflict in his eyes. Kai looked as though he thought Rei liked Li more than he liked Kai. Rei looked pleadingly at Kai.  
  
"What?" Kai asked, trying to cover up his slip of emotions with a wall. Kai sat down on the floor, while Li sat next to him on the sofa. As soon as everyone was seated, Rei scrambled out of Li's hands and walked over to Kai. He looked at Kai for a moment, before shyly licking the side of Kai's face. Kai looked back at him, stunned. He offered Rei a small smile. Rei instantly cheered up and curled up into Kai's lap.  
  
"What happened to Rei?" Li asked, wondering what the hell was going on. Kenny explained about Rei being a Neko-jin and that because he was a bit weak during the transformation he was caught in between. The White Tigers nodded in understanding. Li began to smirk and Mariah rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"Here we go." She muttered under her breath as Li began to change. Within seconds, where Li sat now stood a full grown black lion. He looked remarkably similar to his bit-beast Galleon. He paced over to where Rei sat in Kai's lap and nudged him playfully, before growling a low challenge. Rei's eyes widen in delight to have another playmate, but then he remembered Kai's earlier response to Li. He looked up to see what Kai looked like now. Kai nodded and smiled, letting him go with Li. Li and Rei bounded outside wile the rest of them were left to catch up.  
  
"He's been waiting for the right excuse to do that." Mariah laughed. "He's a Neko-jin too." She explained.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Rei was having a difficult time translating Li's growls, snarls and mews. He looked like he was trying to suggest something.  
  
"What?" Rei asked. Li began to use his paws to help Rei understand. He raised a paw to his face and covered his eyes, burying his head underneath. Rei cocked his head to the side and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"You're hiding? OH! Hide-and-seek!" Rei cried when he finally understood. Li jumped up and grinned when Rei figured it out. They began to run all over the place, alternating turns.  
  
On one of Rei's turns to 'seek', Rei purposely skipped a few numbers to find Li faster. He peeked through his hands in time to see a long black tail disappear around another lodge. He ran after it, but when he rounded the corner he didn't see Li anywhere. He kept wandering until he found himself amongst a crowd of drunk college students who had been throwing a party that night. Rei knew he was in trouble when the first set of eyes fell on him. A young man with black hair spotted him and put down his beer. Rei tried to back up and run away from these people, but his little legs wouldn't move fast enough to escape the man's grasp. The guy grabbed him by his collar and pulled him into the middle of the party.  
  
While Rei tried to wriggle out of their grasp, they began to poke and prod his tiny figure. The guy who grabbed him pulled out a small pocket knife and flicked out the blade. Rei mewed in fright and closed his eyes.  
  
"Why don't we give the kitty a 'haircut'." He laughed, taking another swig of his beer. The crowd cheered and laughed in response and the man came closer.  
  
Li, who had been hiding from Rei on the roof saw all of this happening and got very angry. He jumped from his hiding spot and landed on the guy with the knife. Everyone jumped back in surprise and the smart ones ran. He shot a glare to the ones too drunk to realise what he was and bared his teeth. He crouched low and snarled as he leapt at the girl who was still holding Rei. She jumped back immediately and dropped Rei to the soft grass. Rei watched as Li proceeded to scare of the rest of the students. When everyone was gone, he turned back to Rei, but the chibi mewed again in fright. Behind him was the guy with the knife and he was about to jump on Li's back and slice him up. Li turned and tried to defend himself. Luckily the guy was too intoxicated to try to fight properly and ended up passing out, but he did manage to snag Li's flesh a couple of times and many of the cuts were deep and overflowing with blood.  
  
A couple more students came back to watch the fight and one of the guy's friends pulled out a gun and wobbly raised it to take aim on Li. Li saw the guy and roared his loudest and bared his teeth, hoping the guy would just leave them alone, but he pulled the trigger.  
  
***  
  
"What the hell was that?" Mariah screamed, as another shot sounded and a loud roar echoed outside. She recognised the cry immediately and ran outside, frantic. Kai, sensing that this might have to do with Rei and Li, was right behind her, trying to calm his worries. Everyone else followed. They followed where the shots came from and found Rei dragging Li's large heavy body back to the cabin, his mouth clamped over Li's ear. Li wasn't moving and Rei was sobbing hysterically. There was no one else there.  
  
Mariah dashed to Li's side and hugged his limp body. Rei let go of the ear, finally, and curled up into a ball near his head. Kai went to Rei's side and lifted him up, into his arms. "What happened?" he asked, gently. Rei sniffed and buried his head in Kai's chest. Kai softly patted his head in an effort to calm him down.  
  
"We were just playing hide-and seek and these people were here." Rei explained. "They were really drunk and pulled a knife on me... but Li saved me by trying to scare them off. But he got hurt. One of the drunk men had a gun and they shot Li." He began to sob into Kai's shirt once more. Mariah let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"He didn't get shot." She told them. "One of the bullets grazed his neck and the other one is no where to be seen. He's going to be just fine." She smiled. Gary walked over and gently picked the lion up into his burly arms. They all walked back to the Bladebreakers' lodge.  
  
While Mariah was cleaning Li's wounds (which he unfortunately woke up for... ouch!) Kai was curled up on the sofa with Rei on his lap. Rei was fast asleep already and Kai, who was absent-mindedly playing with a strand of Rei's hair, was slowly drifting off.  
  
Takao had offered to house the White Tigers for the night and Kai and Rei had given up their beds to Kevin and Gary. Mariah and Li would sleep on the floor in the living room with Kai and Rei.  
  
Before he fell asleep, Rei had walked over to Mariah and apologised for getting Li hurt. She smiled at him and gave him a little chuckle. Ruffling his hair, she told him it hadn't been anyone's fault except the drunk students and then started muttering curses under her breath. Rei felt a little better, being relieved of the responsibility and curled up in Kai's arms once more.  
  
"Happy Birthday, Rei-chan." Kai whispered, stifling a yawn, knowing he couldn't fight of sleep any longer. "And what an interesting one it's been." He gave a slight smirk before finally surrendering and letting his dreams take him.  
  
~Finis (Oyasumi!!)  
  
I sort of changed the ending a tiny bit, because it was a little bit awkward the way I had it before. I really hope you like this chapter because it's the last one for a while. It took me a long time to finally finish it (a little disease called 'Procrastination') and it's also (as promised) a very very long chapter (10 pgs before I added the spacing for ff.n= 6500 words!! With spacing it's 14 pgs). I'm not going to post the next chapter for a while as it's similar in length to this one, only a little shorter. It takes place the day after Rei's birthday and a lot more interesting things happen. I know that I stray from Kai's vampie situation, but in chapie seven or eight it'll come up again.  
  
Chapter 5: The Day After (OR Mariah's Worst Mistake) Teaser:  
  
"When did you find out about Li being a Neko-jin?" Kai tried to start a conversation. Mariah smiled and picked up a blade of grass.  
  
"He told me the day before his birthday." She replied, twirling the grass between her fingers. Kai nodded.  
  
"How did you take it?"  
  
"Very well." She lay back in the grass to look up at the blue sky. "Until his birthday. I don't really think I believed him, until I saw it with my own eyes." She laughed, remembering what had happened.  
  
"What did you do?" Kai asked, semi-interested in how she took it.  
  
"I think I screamed. This caused him to run because no one else knew." They both laughed. Mariah looked up at him.  
  
"When did you find out?" she asked him. He stopped laughing and thought back. "Rei told me three days ago." He replied. "I guess I never believed him either, but he didn't know anything about being a Neko-jin, so I wasn't prepared for anything." Mariah nodded and closed her eyes, allowing a warm breeze wash over her.  
  
"What did you do when he transformed?"  
  
"I panicked." Kai smiled. "I told him to stay in my room and shut the door behind me and went straight to Kenny for answers. Of course the door was no problem for Rei and he broke out and came bounding into Kenny's room. That's how everyone else eventually found out." Mariah chuckled at the image she had in her mind.  
  
"Ah. Rei's always been one to go against orders. He'll go out of his way to disobey them." She told Kai. Kai snorted.  
  
"I could tell." He exclaimed. "He tries to look innocent when you try to reprimand him, too."  
  
"Oh, yeah. I've seen that look too often. I just wish I could say no to it."  
  
"Yeah." Kai sighed and lay down beside Mariah in the grass. Mariah turned her head to look at Kai in his peacefulness. He seemed to be completely at ease. Not a muscle in his body was tense. She smiled at him.  
  
"You know, you're a really nice guy when you're not guarding yourself against other people." She told him, sitting up. She was still looking at him. He opened his eyes and looked at her sternly.  
  
"Really?" he asked, not sure if she was being truthful or sincere. She smiled and leaned closer.  
  
"Yeah." Kai was too surprised that someone actually thought he was nice to notice what Mariah was doing. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips...  
  
Suddenly, from behind them, Rei leapt out of the trees and, landing between her and Kai, he snarled at her, crouching low to the ground. She immediately scrambled a few feet away from him. He had his teeth bared violently and every hair on his body was standing on end in anger. His eyes were narrowed to slits and he growled. Her eyes widened and she gasped.  
  
"Gomen nasai." She cried, holding her hands up to protect herself. "It was a spur of the moment thing." Rei, still snarling, stepped forward, his muscles tensing as if he was going to attack her. She shifted back again, a strangled cry escaping her throat...  
  
They were looking to draw blood from this fight...  
  
***  
  
There we go. That's the most you'll get for a while. This should tide you over for a bit while I try and write up jot notes for chapter eight, nine and ten. I'm not sure how many chapters this story will be, but I know exactly how I'm gonna end it, so I just have to work my way up to it. I think I'm gonna end it in the middle of the Asian tournie, but we'll see.  
  
I also have a sequel idea in the makings for this story too, but nothing has been finalized... well, except for the title. It'll be called The Biovolt Project.  
  
Please review... or e-mail me. I've said it enough times... anywayz... ja ne!!! 


	5. The Day After or Mariah's Worst Mistake

Ok, so I wasn't going to post this for another week and a half, but I got bored, and I really wanted to get more reviews... six reviews for such a long chappie as four was is definitely not enough to tide me over. Oh well, what can I do? I'm at least grateful that I've got some reviewers, unlike some people. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Chapter six wont be posted until February (which is only a week away).  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter5: The Day After (OR Mariah's Worst Mistake)  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Kai woke up to find Rei and Li had both disappeared. He quietly moved over to where Mariah was lying on the floor and shook her awake. She slowly adjusted her eyes to the morning sun and sat up. She gave a yawn before turning her attention to Kai.  
  
"Li and Rei are missing." He told her, trying not to let his worry become evident. She smiled, before letting his words sink in.  
  
"He's always being reckless." She muttered and sighed. A frustrated growl was heard outside and a loud thump as something landed among the trash bins outside. Kai and Mariah looked at each other, perplexed, and headed outside to check it out.  
  
They found Li (still as a black lion) about to tackle another large wild cat to the ground. The animal dodged swiftly, making Li miss his target. He snarled in frustration again. It dashed into the trees, followed by Li, who was hot on its trail. They disappeared for a few minutes before Li came out of the forest with his head bowed, snarling to himself. Mariah giggled to herself, making Kai turn to look at her.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked.  
  
"He lost track of Rei." She chuckled. Kai's eyes widened at this.  
  
"That was Rei?" he asked, already knowing it was true. Mariah nodded her head. Li walked up to them and Mariah crouched down to pat his head. He nuzzled into her touch and began to purr. They looked quite cute together.  
  
Suddenly, Li's ears swivelled around and he pulled back, sniffing the air. Something seemed to catch his attention.  
  
"What is it?" Mariah asked, looking around, trying to find what he was searching for. Li didn't respond, only began to pace in the yard in front of them. Out of the blue, a large white blur shot down from the roof and tackled Li to the ground. They rolled for a few seconds, both fighting to be on the top. Kai was finally able to get a good look at Rei's lithe figure. He was a full grown white tiger.  
  
"Wow." He whispered, more to himself that anyone else, but Mariah heard him and nodded. "He's beautiful. Kirei."  
  
Both cats jumped apart. Li ran straight towards Rei, who stood his ground and braced for the impact. Li jumped at Rei and they began fighting again.  
  
"Isn't that dangerous?" Kai wondered aloud, noticing how physical they were getting. Li was getting green grass stains on his fur.  
  
"No." Mariah responded. "Neither of them have their claws out so they can't do that much damage to each other. Being a Neko-jin, Li's wounds are more than likely to be healed by now." Kai nodded in understanding. They broke apart again and Rei roared something to Li. Li snorted and lowered his head, growling ferociously. Rei cheered and pranced back to Kai. Kai raised an eyebrow to Mariah for a translation.  
  
"I think Li gave up." She replied. "Rei's always been the more dominant of the two if he's forced to be." Li charged at Rei again and tackled him to the grass. Rei yelped, startled and fell to the ground. They began to fight again. Mariah sighed.  
  
"Here we go again. Both of them are too stubborn to give in." she exclaimed and shook her head. Kai nodded in agreement, knowing how Rei was. They fought until finally Rei pinned Li to the ground and lowered his head to the lion's. He snarled, seriously, at Li and his eyes flashed in anger. He was finished playing. Li responded with a low growl but didn't do anything else. Rei let Li up and both cats walked back to the lodge.  
  
Figuring he couldn't tackle Rei anymore, Li jumped playfully at his girlfriend and assaulted her face with kisses. She began to laugh and wrapped her arms around his head. Rei, on the other hand was more timid. He stood patiently in front of Kai and waited for his approval of his appearance. Kai smiled.  
  
"You're amazing." He told Rei. "And I already told you that you were beautiful." Rei padded up to Kai and licked his cheek. Kai chuckled at the rough texture running up his cheek, purposely smudging away his triangles. Rei lay down and rested his front paws and head in Kai's lap. Kai was running his fingers over the bunches of tightly coiled muscles just beneath Rei's fur. They were so powerful. He brought his hand to the back of Rei's head and began to lightly scratch his ears. Rei closed his eyes and leaned his head further into Kai's hand, beginning to purr loudly. Mariah laughed.  
  
"He's falling asleep." She giggled quietly. Li was lying down behind her with his body wrapped around her. She was laying back so he looked like a huge pillow. Li was pretty much asleep. Rei lifted his head and saw the way they were sitting together. After deciding that would get him as much contact with Kai as possible he got up and stretched before curling himself around Kai's back so his head rested in front of Li's. Kai leaned back and continued to rub his ears. Kai closed his eyes and turned his body so he was curled up on his side against Rei too. Kai and Mariah fell asleep again while Rei kept watch over them all. They stayed that way for a while.  
  
***  
  
When Max and Kenny came through for breakfast they were surprised to find the living room and kitchen thoroughly empty. They hadn't expected Takao to be up anytime soon, but they had figured that at least Kai would be around somewhere. Max decided to check the bedrooms while Kenny checked outside.  
  
He knocked lightly on Rei and Kai's door and when he got no answer he pushed it open slightly. He found Gary and Kevin in the beds instead of who he thought would be there. They were fast asleep and snoring. He smiled and closed the door just as Kenny came racing up to him.  
  
"What is it?" he asked. Kenny raised a finger to his lips, motioning for him to stay quiet and pulled him to the door. When they reached the door Kenny had left open they found Kai and Mariah asleep using two large cats at pillows.  
  
"Is that...?" Max trailed off. Kenny shrugged.  
  
"I don't know." He responded. Rei's ears twitched and swivelled around towards them. He gave them an unwelcome glare and nudged Kai awake.  
  
Kai sat up and raised his arms with a yawn. Rei stood up and stretched his paws before he nudged his way past the two gawking teens and padded back into the lodge.  
  
Kai stood up and looked at Max and Kenny, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Was that Rei?" Kenny spoke up. Max was still staring at Rei's retreating figure. Kai nodded. While they went back into the cabin, Kai began to wake Li and Mariah up. "Mariah, wake up." He shook her gruffly. "It's time for breakfast." He added. She moaned and rolled over.  
  
"I can make breakfast for everyone." She mumbled, sitting up. "To repay you guys for letting us stay here." Kai ignored her offer and walked into the small house. She sighed and stood up, dusting of her clothes. Li felt the shift in her weight and opened an eye. She caught this and when he tried to pretend he was still sleeping she laughed.  
  
"I know you're awake." She exclaimed. "And if you stay there you won't get any food." He rolled his eyes at her and, with a lot of moans and groans, pulled himself up and followed her inside.  
  
***  
  
While Mariah was cooking, Max set about the task of waking Takao and Kenny set the table for everyone. Li was lazing about on the couch with Rei until both of their stomachs protested for their lack of food. Li ignored it, while Rei pulled himself up from the couch to see what Mariah was frying.  
  
She had a pan of bacon on the stove and smiled down sweetly to Rei.  
  
"Hungry?" she asked. He nodded and gave her his cutest smile, hoping she would let him have a few strips. She used the tongs and picked up a few already cooked slices and placed them in his mouth.  
  
"Do you think that's really healthy for a cat?" Kai asked her. He was leaning on the frame of the door with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes locked in their usual glare. He smiled at him and turned back to her cooking.  
  
"Sure it is." She replied. "He's still Rei, even though he's a cat. He'll be back to normal before he can get sick." Kai didn't ease up on his glare, but turned and stalked out of the kitchen with Rei following.  
  
"We're going to practice after lunch." He announced. "You and your team can join us if you'd like."  
  
"Sure!" she exclaimed to his retreating back. She wasn't at all fazed by his cold attitude.  
  
***  
  
At the outdoor dish, Rei walked up to the dish with his launcher and blade in his mouth. Kai had to stifle his laugh when he put the launcher between his paws and set the ripcord between his teeth.  
  
"How do you think you're going to be able to blade?" Kai asked, still trying to hold back his laughs. Rei glared at him fiercely. He had noticed that his method of launching wouldn't work. He snarled in frustration and backed away from the dish. Kai, thinking Rei had given up, walked up to the dish to face his next opponent. He was in for a shock when Rei returned to the dish with Takao holding his blade. Rei nudged Takao's leg, motioning for him to launch the blade.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Two."  
  
"One. Let it RIP!!" Max and Kevin cried and both boys launched their blades. Rei pushed Takao out of the way and let loose a roar of challenge to Kai, which was echoed by Driger as the beast came out of his bit.  
  
"Dranzer, ATTACK!" Kai yelled, praying not to lose like he did the last time. Dranzer flew at Driger, but Rei's blade seemed to spin faster after Rei's cry. It dodged Kai's attack and circled the dish a few times. Dranzer let out a cry and tried to follow. She didn't want to lose to a cat either. Rei's blade pounced onto Dranzer, his momentum slamming Dranzer into one side of the dish. Driger jumped back just as she hit it, waiting for her to return the attack. Kai's blade recovered from the crash quickly and flew at Driger. They collided head on and begin to use brute strength to try and force one blade out of the dish. Driger jumped into the air, allowing Dranzer to be sent to the other side of the dish with her force. Neither her or Kai had anticipated Rei's move.  
  
"Finish the tiger!" Kai yelled, his impatience getting at him. His blade rushed at Driger and slammed into him. Driger wobbled for a minute from the hit, but jumped on top of Dranzer. Kai's blade tried to dislodge Rei's, but Dranzer was running out of spin and slowing down. Kai saw this and had to fight to keep his panic hidden. Suddenly Dranzer stopped moving altogether, while Driger continued spinning, almost mockingly, on the surface of the blade. Kai's blade had stopped, but because of Rei's Driger it continued to stand in the center of the dish.  
  
Kai sighed and bowed his head in defeat. He realised that was the second time Rei had defeated Kai in the past two days.  
  
"So you're a good blader as a cat too, ne?" Kai smiled at Rei. Rei jumped across the dish and tackled Kai to the ground. He gave him a playful lick and stepped back. Kai smiled and sat up. Rei called out to Li and nodded his head to the forest. Li nodded and they both took off into the trees. Everyone blinked.  
  
"He has the attention span of a flea." Takao muttered. Everyone but Kai laughed. "Sounds like someone else I know." Kai muttered loud enough for Takao to hear. He shrugged and went back to practicing with Max, proving Kai's point.  
  
Li and Rei came back out of the forest, looking scornfully at Kai and Mariah.  
  
"What?" Mariah asked, oblivious to the reason behind her boyfriend's glare. He came up to her and grabbed a mouthful of her clothes and pulled. "You wanted us to follow?" she asked. Rei nodded. Kai rolled his eyes.  
  
"We aren't mind readers, baka." He exclaimed to Rei, who snarled at the insult. Kai got up and followed the two cats and Mariah for a walk in the woods.  
  
***  
  
When the two felines had found a field, they had resumed their game of hide- and-seek from earlier, while Kai and Mariah sat down in the grass. Li began chasing Rei around the valley without any luck of catching him. Mariah laughed at her boyfriends efforts. Li gave a roar of frustration when Rei ran past Kai and Mariah and disappeared into a forest, just like the last time. With a sigh of defeat, he dashed in to follow, even though he knew he probably wouldn't find him. Rei had a knack for hiding in the woods. Kai and Mariah were left alone for a few minutes.  
  
"When did you find out about Li being a Neko-jin?" Kai tried to start a conversation. Mariah smiled and picked up a blade of grass.  
  
"He told me the day before his birthday." She replied, twirling the grass between her fingers. Kai nodded.  
  
"How did you take it?"  
  
"Very well." She lay back in the grass to look up at the blue sky. "Until his birthday. I don't really think I believed him, until I saw it with my own eyes." She laughed, remembering what had happened.  
  
"What did you do?" Kai asked, semi-interested in how she took it.  
  
"I think I screamed. This caused him to run because no one else knew." They both laughed. Mariah looked up at him.  
  
"When did you find out?" she asked him. He stopped laughing and thought back. "Rei told me three days ago." He replied. "I guess I never believed him either, but he didn't know anything about being a Neko-jin, so I wasn't prepared for anything." Mariah nodded and closed her eyes, allowing a warm breeze wash over her.  
  
"What did you do when he transformed?"  
  
"I panicked." Kai smiled. "I told him to stay in my room and shut the door behind me and went straight to Kenny for answers. Of course the door was no problem for Rei and he broke out and came bounding into Kenny's room. That's how everyone else eventually found out." Mariah chuckled at the image she had in her mind.  
  
"Ah. Rei's always been one to go against orders. He'll go out of his way to disobey them." She told Kai. Kai snorted.  
  
"I could tell." He exclaimed. "He tries to look innocent when you try to reprimand him, too."  
  
"Oh, yeah. I've seen that look too often. I just wish I could say no to it."  
  
"Yeah." Kai sighed and lay down beside Mariah in the grass. Mariah turned her head to look at Kai in his peacefulness. He seemed to be completely at ease. Not a muscle in his body was tense. She smiled at him.  
  
"You know, you're a really nice guy when you're not guarding yourself against other people." She told him, sitting up. She was still looking at him. He opened his eyes and looked at her sternly.  
  
"Really?" he asked, not sure if she was being truthful or sincere. She smiled and leaned closer.  
  
"Yeah." Kai was too surprised that someone actually thought he was nice to notice what Mariah was doing. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips. When he finally was able to move his arms he pushed her off him and wiped his mouth in disgust.  
  
"I don't feel that way for you, Mariah." He spat. "You have a boyfriend." He added. She lowered her head in shame.  
  
Suddenly, from behind them, Rei leapt out of the trees and, landing between her and Kai, he snarled at her, crouching low to the ground. She immediately scrambled a few feet away from him. He had his teeth bared violently and every hair on his body was standing on end in anger. His eyes were narrowed to slits and he growled. Her eyes widened and she gasped.  
  
"Gomen nasai." She cried, holding her hands up to protect herself. "It was a spur of the moment thing." Rei, still snarling, stepped forward, his muscles tensing as if he was going to attack her. She shifted back again, a strangled cry escaping her throat.  
  
Li jumped out of the woods and took a stance in front of Mariah to protect her. He hadn't any idea what was going on but he knew Rei was out of line trying to attack Mariah. He snarled at his best friend when he showed no signs of letting up on his girlfriend. Leaving him with no other choice, Li jumped at Rei and they began to fight. Rei roared, adrenalin pumping through his veins and he brought his paws around to slash Li. Both cats had their claws fully extended and both Kai and Mariah saw that they weren't playing around. They were looking to draw blood from this fight.  
  
Kai jumped onto Rei while Mariah wrapped her arms around Li's neck. Both of them pulled back and had to use all their strength to hold them apart.  
  
"Li, stop!" Mariah yelled. She knew Rei had every right to want to rip her head off. "He's mad because I kissed Kai." She exclaimed. Immediately Li stopped straining against Mariah and turned around to look at her. She closed her eyes, seeing the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. Just as the sun set behind the mountains, Li transformed back to human and Mariah's hands slumped back to her side.  
  
"How could you?" he asked, his voice eliciting all the hurt and disgust he was feeling at that moment.  
  
"Li, I'm sorry." She tried to explain but he held up a hand to silence her. He couldn't listen to her excuses just yet. He took of back into the forest to get away from it all. "Li!" Mariah called. She didn't know what she would do if Li left her. Her heart felt like it was fighting its way up her throat to run after him and she decided to follow it.  
  
"I-I'm so sorry for what I did..." She trailed off, afraid to look Rei in his raging amber eyes. She ran into the forest, following Li, leaving Kai and Rei in the valley.  
  
Kai still had his arms wrapped around Rei's neck and let go when he began to fight the hold. Rei whirled around to face him. He seemed to be calm again except for the narrowed eyes and the fang revealed by his slightly curled lip. He snarled softly at Kai.  
  
"I didn't kiss her." Kai stated firmly. "I pushed her away." Rei let go of his glare only to have a hurt expression replace it. He growled low before taking off in the direction of their lodging, opposite from the way in which Li and Mariah dashed.  
  
When Rei had disappeared into the woods, Kai sighed and stood from the grass.  
  
"How do I always end up alone?" he wondered aloud to himself before heading off in the direction Rei went, slowly.  
  
~Finis  
  
Please please review!! I'd really like a good present for mah birthday (tomorrow). I was originally going to post Rei's birthday on my own... but it took too long. N e waz.. Happy Birthday to me! (audience: *unenthusiastically* Yay... )  
  
Even if you didn't like mah story I'd at least like to hear your opinion so I can know what do do for the next chapter... but I DON'T want reviews telling me that Rei or Kai isn't gay... (I've only gotten two like that for my stories... and the first one was actually a really cool review. Unfortunately that person only read AWFS as if it was a friendship thing... no way would they read this one...).  
  
Ja ne, Konbanwa, Konnichiwa, Oyasumi, Ohayo, etc... depending on where you are right now. 


	6. At It Like Rabbits

Okay, so I had planned to fully lash out at my first ever flamer, but once I was finished writing out all my anger, I decided to put it into another story altogether, called 'Flammable'. It's a little letter to any and all authors on FF.N who have been burned by the notorious Flamer.  
  
Eleven reviews! Kool! And to think, the last one I only received six... anyways... As planned I have made sure I got this out on the Saturday, and one of the better things to note is that after this chapter not a soul has seen what I have in store for Rei and Kai. I told my friend snippets, but that doesn't help her at all. But at least I've been able to curb my weakness for sharing my stories ahead of time. I felt I was losing honest reviews. Oh well. Please read on...  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter 6: At It Like Rabbits  
  
***  
  
When Kai returned to their cabin that night he found Rei curled up in a ball on the foot of his bed. Little tears glistened at the corners of his eyes, but none fell. He slept as peacefully as a child. He smiled and scratched Rei gently behind the ears before climbing in himself and drifting off to sleep.  
  
In the morning, Kai awoke, refreshed, to the smell of bacon frying again. He sat up and noticed that Rei was gone again. He never thought anyone could wake up earlier than him, but he was wrong. He walked slowly into the living room and found that room littered with seemingly dead bodies. Kevin and Gary were sharing a couch, but neither were fully on it, and Takao was lying on the floor with his legs on the seat of a chair, snoring. He snorted at the picture and continued on his way to investigate the kitchen. Rei was standing at the stove, moving a few slices of bacon around the pan absent-mindedly. He was back to his normal body. His ear twitched when he heard Kai enter the kitchen, but he didn't turn around.  
  
"I'm sorry for the way I overreacted last night." He started, surprising Kai. "I was hurt because I believed that you really loved me and I was being foolish." Kai raised a brow at this.  
  
"But I do love you." He forced out. He wasn't very good at expressing these things. Rei shook his head.  
  
"No, I understand that you were only saying that to the little kitten version of me to stop me from crying." Rei replied. He was trying to force his emotions down. "But I thought you really meant me... not the little kid." Kai was beginning to understand.  
  
"Rei, I do love you." He repeated.  
  
"Kai, you can stop the charade. Stop hurting me-" Kai stepped forward and grabbed Rei's arm, forcing him to turn away from the stove and look at him.  
  
"Rei!" he yelled. "Would you listen to me?! Koishiteru, and if I have to smack you to get it through your thick skull, I will." With one arm occupied with holding Rei, Kai raised his other slowly to grasp his face. He leaned in and crushed his lips to Rei's as forcefully as he could. Rei's tense muscles relaxed in Kai's passion and he melted into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and let his fingers run through his slate hair. Kai reached behind Rei and moved the bacon off the stove and turned the oven off before pulling them both away from the appliance. He slammed Rei's back into the wall beside the doorway and lifted Rei's shirt out of his boxers. He was about to rip off the buttons when Rei began to pull off his own shirt. As the tight black turtle necked tank top was pulled over his head they had to break apart. They both gasped for air before they crushed themselves back together. Rei's shirt was ripped open and Kai rubbed his fingers up and down Rei's skin.  
  
The Chinese boy was feeling his emotions overpower his brain and all his thoughts began to shut down. He closed his eyes tightly and tried in vain to grab the wall behind him for support, but the smooth surface didn't help a bit. Rei let out a moan and tilted his head back, allowing Kai easier access to the skin at his neck. Kai held his face still and began to lick, nibble and kiss his way up and down Rei's collar.  
  
"Ahem." A loud voice coughed, interrupting them before they could go any farther. "Why didn't you two just stay in your room to do that?" Kevin sneered. They jumped apart, panting, leaning on the closest thing to them. Rei was still against the wall with his head tilted back and his eyes firmly sealed shut and Kai was hunched over, with his back to the kitchen counter.  
  
"Can we help you with something or are you just going to stand there and stare?" Kai snarled, frustrated that he had been interrupted. Rei blushed and cracked his eyes open.  
  
"Have either of you two seen Li or Mariah?" Kevin asked. Rei shook his head and Kai sighed.  
  
"No, they were in the forest the last time we saw them." Kai replied. Kevin nodded, leaving the kitchen. Rei pulled Kai back to him and kissed him chastely on the lips.  
  
"Maybe we should take his advice." He whispered softly, a sly grin playing with his features.  
  
"Hn." Kai replied, thinking about it. "Iie. Kenny probably wouldn't appreciate being woken up by us again." He smiled. Rei laughed and brought Kai's face to his own.  
  
***  
  
Just as Kevin was leaving the kitchen, Max came out of his room. They smiled cheerfully to each other and Kevin kept going to the living room while Max headed to the kitchen.  
  
"I'd be careful going into the kitchen." Kevin warned Max. The blond turned around and gave Kevin a confused look. "They're going at it like rabbits." He explained. Max nodded and walked into the kitchen. Kai still had Rei pressed up against the wall in a searing kiss. They jumped apart when Max walked in, but Max laughed.  
  
"Don't mind me." He chuckled. "Kevin already warned me. Said something about bunnies." Both Kai and Rei blushed, understanding the reference. Max opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. Kai and Rei looked at each other and their blush deepened. Takao would never let them live it down.  
  
"After breakfast I think you should train more." Kai announced as Max walked out of the kitchen with his full glass of milk. Rei gave him a glare and crossed his arms over his bare chest. The button down shirt had slipped off his shoulders some time ago.  
  
"Why?" he pouted. "I've practiced just as much as you all have." He argued. Kai shook his head.  
  
"You were a cat for two days. You weren't able to practice properly for two whole days." Rei hung his head and groaned loudly. Then an idea came to him.  
  
"But I beat you easily as a cat." He pointed out, rubbing his wins in Kai's face. Kai ignored his efforts and crossed his own arms.  
  
"How about we have a rematch battle outside?" he offered, drawing his blade from his pocket.  
  
"I grew up, battling outside." Rei argued, resting his fists on his hips. "I'll have the upper hand." He stated, and then he caught on to Kai's plan. Kai nodded. "You're a sore loser."  
  
"How so?" Kai asked, walking out of the kitchen. Rei followed.  
  
"Because then you'll have an excuse if you don't win."  
  
"Yep." Kai laughed as he led Rei outside to a clear spot. "But I wasn't a sore loser when I lost Dranzer."  
  
"Maybe not on the outside." Rei snorted and took out his blade. Kai smirked. They didn't wait for a count down before launching their blades. Driger was spinning a bit slower than usual and he didn't attack when he had the opportunity to. Kai looked up at Rei and saw that he was concentrating his hardest on the movements of his blade.  
  
"Attack Dranzer!" he cried and his phoenix leapt out of its home. Driger was no where to be seen. Kai could see a smirk working its way onto Rei's face, as if he had planned this all along and it was working perfectly. His blade wobbled slightly before Dranzer sent it flying into Rei's hand. Rei's grin broadened.  
  
"You won." He exclaimed, cheerfully. Kai scowled at him.  
  
"You cheated." He retorted. "You let me win." Rei smirked at him triumphantly.  
  
"You have no proof of that. I'd lose Driger if I didn't blade with my whole heart." He exclaimed.  
  
"I'm sure you had plenty of time over those two years to change that." Kai muttered to himself. Rei chuckled to himself. Kai really was a sore loser.  
  
"You still have no proof!" he called to Kai's retreating back. Kai snorted. He had had enough of practicing with Rei for one day.  
  
When they got inside they saw that everyone was awake and waiting for them. Rei and Kai walked inside with exact opposite emotions. Rei's expression was smug and cheerful, while Kai's was glowering.  
  
"What, you lost again?!" Takao exclaimed. Kai raised his gaze to Rei and glared harshly at him. Rei seemed unaffected by it and continued to smile.  
  
"No, I won." He muttered. Everyone looked at Kai surprised. No one knew why Kai looked so mad about winning. Takao was about to open his big fat mouth when Li came in, carrying a sleeping Mariah in his arms. She was curled in towards his chest. He nudged her cheek with his nose.  
  
"Mariah, we're here." He whispered into her ear. Her eyes fluttered open and she climbed out of his arms.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Rei, Kai." Mariah said softly. Li nodded in agreement. "It was a mistake, I didn't know what I was doing." She continued. Everyone but Kai and Rei was looking back and forth between the two pairs, confused. Rei nodded.  
  
"It's okay." He replied, smiling. It was all behind him. Kevin went to Mariah's side and poked her hard.  
  
"Kevin!" she cried. He smirked.  
  
"Why the hell are you apologizing to them?" he asked. "What did you do, flash them?" he taunted her. Her anger flared and she began chasing him around the room.  
  
"It's none of your BUSINESS!!" she screamed, trying to claw at him. Li caught her in his arms and held her back from hurting anybody, while Gary placed a massive hand on Kevin's shoulder, effectively stopping him in his tracks. They began bickering back and forth. Li and Rei shook their heads, smirking at their childish behaviour.  
  
"I know something that you don't!" Kevin sneered at Mariah. "I saw Rei and Kai lip-locked in the kitchen." He exclaimed. Everyone immediately looked at Kai and Rei.  
  
"You did?" Mariah crowed. Li raised an eyebrow at Rei. Rei blushed and glared at Kevin.  
  
"That big mouth of yours is going to get you killed soon." He snarled. Kai kept his lips sealed, a slight pink tint gracing his cheeks.  
  
"Kiss him." Mariah ordered Kai. "I want to see it for myself." Kai snorted and shot a glare at her.  
  
"I'm not kissing anyone for your entertainment." He exclaimed. Mariah stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.  
  
"If they don't do it, I can give you the details." Kevin spoke up, ignoring Rei's venomous looks. "Kai had Rei pressed up against the kitchen wall." He started. Mariah's eyes sparkled and she listened with interest. Rei and Kai's blush deepened.  
  
"Shut your face while you still have one." Kai growled. Kevin smirked.  
  
"Well, not until you do what Mariah said." He taunted them. Kai narrowed his eyes at him. "You can't hurt me. Max saw it too." He chuckled. Max nodded in agreement.  
  
"But I didn't see as much as Kevin." Max added.  
  
"Then Kai tried to take off Rei's shirt..." Kevin trailed off as Kai had finally had enough. Kai lunged at Rei and captured his mouth with his lips. Everyone yelped and jumped back, startled. Rei was caught off guard and fell backwards. Kai pressed his body as close to Rei's as he could and licked Rei's bottom lip. Rei gasped allowing Kai entrance to his mouth. Around them, everyone began to cheer and make catcalls and whistles. Takao was whooping and Mariah was squealing.  
  
When they broke apart, Rei was gasping for breath. Rei looked up at Kai, curiously for a moment.  
  
"Why did you decide to kiss me?" he whispered to Kai.  
  
"I'd rather kiss you than have someone tell about it." Kai grinned. They sat back up and noticed that everyone was staring at them expectantly.  
  
"What?" Kai asked, coldly.  
  
"Well, are you two dating now?" Takao blurted what everyone was thinking. Rei blushed and looked at Kai. He shrugged.  
  
"I don't know... don't care either." He replied, noticing the excited look in Mariah's eyes that always meant trouble. He groaned inwardly.  
  
"AGAIN!" she cried. Kai sighed, and glared at her. "What?" she asked. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at her, before standing up and tossing Rei over his shoulder.  
  
"What the hell!" Rei cried, being caught off guard for the second time that day. He began kicking and fighting his way out of Kai's hold, but Kai held tight. "Put me down!" he demanded. Kai growled and took him to their room.  
  
"I'd like a bit of privacy." He muttered, barely audible to Rei. He opened their door and threw Rei down onto his bed. After closing the door behind him he thumped his back against the wall and slid down to the floor. Rei was looking at him expectantly for an answer.  
  
"Groan." He ordered. Rei gave him a weird look and shook his head. He didn't understand what Kai was doing.  
  
"No." he said stubbornly. Kai growled deep in his throat and stood from his spot on the floor. He walked over to where Rei was lying on the bed and climbed on top of him to he was raised above Rei on his hands and knees. He grasped Rei's chin in one hand and placed his other at Rei's hips, resting his weight solely on his legs. He tilted Rei's head back and began to tease the skin just below his ear, slowly grinding his hips into Rei's. Rei's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he gave an involuntary shudder before moaning at Kai's touch. Kai grinned smugly and got off the bed.  
  
"Thank you." He whispered, while Rei tried to calm down his raging hormones. Rei was outraged and snarled at him. Kai ignored Rei and went to the door. Flinging it open, seven bodies tumbled into the room.  
  
"What were you all doing outside our door?" Kai asked, his voice dripping with false sweetness. They all looked at each other.  
  
"Um... Mariah thought she dropped a contact on the floor." Li piped up. He began to pat the ground as if he were looking for something. Rei rolled his eyes.  
  
"She doesn't wear contacts." He retorted.  
  
"Um... well..." he trailed off.  
  
"Were you spying on us?" Kai asked. "Did you think we were doing something?" he raised an eyebrow while he waited for their response.  
  
"Well it sounded-" Takao started, before Rei interrupted him with a low moan. Kai snickered. The group's eyes collectively widened.  
  
"You mean you knew we were there the whole time?" Mariah asked. Rei nodded.  
  
"Yup." Kai answered. "Leave now." He demanded, the ice returning to his voice. They hung their heads and left. Kai slammed the door on them and turned to Rei. Rei was livid. Kai had never seen him this mad ever.  
  
"You can't just do that to me and stop suddenly, thinking you can get away with it." He snarled at Kai. Kai went on the defence and glared back at him.  
  
"Well if you had moaned when I told you to I wouldn't have had to do that." He retorted. Rei crossed his arms across his chest and stood up from the bed.  
  
"That doesn't change the fact that you used me and my body to make them look stupid. I think I deserve something in return." Kai rolled his eyes.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked, slightly unnerved by Rei walking closer and closer to him. Rei leaned in and brushed his lips across Kai's ears, letting his breath out in a soft hiss.  
  
"You." He breathed and threw his whole weight onto Kai. They both fell to the floor, lip locked, wrapped in each other's arms. Rei lifted Kai's tight shirt over his head and moved his lips down to Kai's neck, remembering how Kai teased him. He began to nip lightly at the skin and roll his tongue over the skin he'd catch in his teeth. He lowered his hands to Kai's belt and pulled the leather towards him, causing Kai to elicit a groan to match his own. Rei grinned and lifted his head from Kai's neck.  
  
"Now who's groaning on command?" he chuckled huskily at Kai's weakened glare.  
  
"Stop talking." Kai growled and pulled Rei's head back to his neck. With one quick motion, he rolled them over so that Rei was on the bottom.  
  
"Oh, Kai." Rei whimpered. He didn't want to give up his dominance. Kai pulled Rei's hands from his belt and pinned them above his head entwining their fingers together.  
  
"You said you wanted me and this is what you get." Kai smirked. "I'm always in control." He stated. Rei grinned back.  
  
"Not unless I let you have control of me." He snorted and bucked his hips against Kai's. Kai threw his head back and let out a cry. Rei snickered.  
  
"See." He pointed out. Kai looked back down to Rei.  
  
"Who's saying I didn't let you do that." He asked. Rei frowned. Kai leaned down to kiss Rei again. Rei grinded his hips up again, catching Kai off guard. He yelped in surprise and fell into Rei's lips, letting go of his arms. Rei immediately used this to his advantage and, wrapping his arms around Kai's body, rolled Kai onto his back again. Kai gave up control.  
  
"Well, well, well. Look who's in control, now." Rei leered down at Kai. Kai smirked back.  
  
"Not for long." He breathed.  
  
"Maybe, but if I wanted you to groan, all I'd have to do is this." Rei whispered and ran a finger down Kai's side. He bit his lip and stifled the inevitable cry. "Oh, come on now... you're being no fun." Rei pouted and tried again. This time Kai threw his head back and gasped. Rei grinned in delight. "That's better." Kai tried, but he couldn't manage to narrow his eyes at Rei. Rei laughed at his effort and kept going.  
  
"And if I wanted you to close your eyes and arch your back I'd just do this." He bucked his groin into Kai's. Kai wasn't thinking clearly anymore. He allowed his body to take over and his back curved into Rei's body, trying to create more friction. He moaned softly, but refused to close his eyes, even though he wanted to so badly. Rei leaned in and nipped at Kai's ear.  
  
"Oh, go on." He whispered to him. "You know you want to close your eyes and enjoy this." Kai struggled to speak.  
  
"I'm not going to let you have the satisfaction of being right." He gasped. Rei grinned again.  
  
"But it hurts you so much to know that I am right, ne? You just want me to shut up and keep going."  
  
"And if I do?" Kai could feel all his resolve dissolving with Rei's body heat. Rei leaned in even closer.  
  
"Then you'd know exactly how I would feel if you were doing this to me." He pulled back and looked Kai in the eyes. Kai was shocked. He hadn't realised he could make Rei feel this way. He smiled and closed his eyes for Rei. Rei beamed and rocked his hips again. Kai gasped and his breathing became shallow and uneven. He raised his hands to Rei's head and pulled him down into his kiss. He kissed him with as much lust as he could gather and let his hands roam Rei's body. They wandered down Rei's back before finding a place on Rei's upper thighs, holding him as close to himself as he possibly could. Somewhere along the lines both of them realised they were no longer in control of their actions, but neither of them cared enough to stop what they were doing. It all felt too good. Too right...  
  
***  
  
Behind the door, the other Beybladers had heard everything. They were all shocked.  
  
"I can't believe Rei said that." Kenny exclaimed, his ear pressed to the door. Takao snorted.  
  
"I just can't believe he said that and is still alive." He grinned. Max chuckled.  
  
"Maybe, but who'd have ever imagined Kai would say those sorts of things out loud." Kevin snickered.  
  
"Maybe we should let them have some privacy." Mariah suggested, her and Li were standing away from the door. No one moved. They all still had their attention caught by the noises coming from the bedroom.  
  
"IF ANY OF YOU ARE BEHIND THAT DOOR IN FIVE SECONDS I WON'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I'LL FUCKING DO TO YOU!!!!" Kai screamed through the door. Everyone jumped back and suddenly found something else to keep them occupied. For the rest of the day no one dared go near their door.  
  
~Finis  
  
Waha!! Can you believe I actually finished this whole chapter in one day? Wow... I'm actually surprised. I told myself that I'd post the third chappie once I finished chapter five and one page of chapter six. Well I posted chapter three... oh, about four hours ago. lol... I hope you liked this chapter. As I said to my friend, there was absolutely no action (between Rei and Kai) what so ever in the last chappie, so I needed to make up for it. Hee hee. Well I hope ppl like it... and no... Rei and Kai don't actually sleep together... but you'll find that out later. They're only sixteen for crying out loud! Plus... I'm only seventeen. They just get a little carried away.  
  
Please don't hurt me for the next chappie... because something bad happens to one of the main characters... ok, ALMOST happens. But it's still bad...  
  
Chapter 7: Written in Blood (preview)  
  
"Watch where you're going kid!" one of them screamed. Rei looked up and mumbled his apologies. He really didn't want to get into a fight with them...  
  
"You don't have to be so rude." He muttered under his breath and kept walking. They unfortunately heard his words and grabbed him back. The guy twisted his arm behind his back and slammed his fist into Rei's face.  
  
"That'll teach you to mouth off to your elders." He sneered. Rei narrowed his eyes and fought to get his arm released. Using his free arm he punched the guy back.  
  
"Get lost." He spat. The guy held his cheek and found that Rei had split his lip. He growled and threw another fist into Rei's gut. Rei sagged over and held his stomach in pain...  
  
"So you're a strong fighter." The student sneered. He was stained with Rei's blood. "We'll see when I'm through with you." He nodded to his friends and they stepped away while the man grabbed his arms again and pinned him to the ground using his legs. Rei suddenly realised that he was a great deal smaller than everyone else. He would have a lot of trouble getting out of his grip...  
  
"Get off me!" he screamed, pounding away at his chest. The guy laughed. "Kai! Help me!"  
  
"Do you really think your girlfriend will come and save you?" he chuckled hoarsely. "No one's going to save you from me..."  
  
That's all you're going to get from me. Oh well. That's for the *SIX!!* reviews I got for chapter four... only six... *sob* do I suck that much? (*don't answer that...*) 


	7. Written In Blood

To pixie_blood: No, I did not forget... *pouts big* hmph... and there's no way I'd be grateful that a really cool reviewer wasn't around... that's sad... lol... ok. so it isn't that funny...  
  
Ok, I must comment on one thing (before I start the story). A lot of you remembered about Kai being a vampie! I'm actually surprised, cause I had practically forgotten... luckily for you (and me) this chappie was already typed before I could forget about the vampire part of the story. Vampire Kai is brought back up in this chapter and a little bit in chapter eight (But since he only needs one drink a month of Rei's blood... there isn't really much I could do) and then comes chapter nine, and then a big blow out with lots of vampire and Neko-jin stuff (Mostly vampire) and then I'm done. And then it's off to start working on the sequels of this and 'Another Word For Strength'. Anyways... Read on...  
  
Erm... I think I might have to hide behind a trash lid or something for most of this chappie... I'm sorry for hurting him! I didn't mean it! *whispers* Well yes I did, but they don't need to know that yet.  
  
Kai: Hn... He got off better than me at least.  
  
Chi: Well that's cause I couldn't let him be the weak one in your relationship.  
  
Kai: Why did you have to make that happen to me?  
  
Chi: Well... *looks at audience* Because... you know what "That Man" was like to you during the tournament... do you honestly think he was innocent?  
  
Kai: *snort* Are you so afraid to say the name of the man who ra-*Chi covers his mouth*  
  
Chi: *sweating* Now really, Hiwatari-sama, we don't need that nonsense coming out of your mouth. Aren't you always the one who tries to keep your past a secret?  
  
Kai: ... Hn...  
  
***  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter 7: Written in Blood (I'm sorry! I couldn't think of a better title in time...)  
  
***  
  
In the morning, Rei awoke to find Kai wrapped around his bare torso, his pale shoulders sticking out from beneath the covers. He smiled. After Kai had yelled at their friends a second time, they decided to stop kissing unless they took it too far. Kai had been insistent that neither of them were ready. So, instead they crawled under the covers together and talked about what each other had been doing for the two years they had been apart. Kai had been wandering around Japan, trying to find a worthy Beyblade opponent, and avoiding being in the same building as his grandfather or anyone who worked for him. Kai absolutely loathed anyone his Voltaire hired, and refused to issue commands to them. He ended up alone for the most part of the two years.  
  
Rei had been staying with the White Tiger team trying to get to know them again. He had missed them greatly and was trying desperately to reclaim their lost childhood days, but no one was the same as he remembered. When Mr. Dickenson called their village to let them know about the tournament he had been only too ready to leave.  
  
He pulled back the covers and wriggled free of Kai's strong grip. The crisp mountain air licked at his bare skin and he involuntarily shivered. Dressing quickly, he went through to the living room to find his new gloves and headband.  
  
"Ohayo Rei-chan." Mariah greeted him. She was sitting on the sofa with her head resting on her boyfriend's shoulder. Li was still fast asleep.  
  
"Morning Mariah." He replied, offering her a small smile. He saw the boxes that held his presents near the doorway to the kitchen. He rifled through a couple of boxes before he found them. "I'm going for a walk, care to join me?" he asked. She nodded and lifted Li's arm carefully from her shoulders and followed Rei out of the cabin.  
  
***  
  
"So, how long are you guys planning to stay here?" Rei asked as they hiked up a hill. Mariah shrugged.  
  
"Mr. Dickenson has been trying to hook us up with a lodge for a couple of days." She replied. "We were planning on staying around for the tournament." Rei nodded.  
  
"How come the White Tigers never entered this time?" he asked, helping her up onto a rock ledge at the base of the mountains.  
  
"We're waiting for the World Championships." She boasted. "That's where we can prove our improved skills."  
  
"This Asian tournament had a qualifying round just to enter." Rei pointed out. Hundreds of teams had tried to enter but there had been just too many and the hundreds were narrowed down to the best 32 teams. There would only be five rounds before the finals.  
  
"Well we all decided that the World championships would be much more of a challenge." Mariah defended her team's decision. They stopped at a small foot hill halfway up the mountain and sat down, watching the sun rise slowly over the lodging company's many cabins.  
  
"I'm sorry about the other day." Mariah said softly after a few minutes. "I didn't mean to kiss Kai, especially if I knew it would hurt you so much." Rei smiled and patted her shoulder gently.  
  
"It's ok." He told her. "I've already forgiven you. If it didn't mean anything to you or Kai then it shouldn't mean anything to me." Mariah looked up to him and smiled. He took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze to show that he had no hard feelings towards her. She sighed. They stayed on the hill for a few moments before Mr. Dickenson came towards them.  
  
"Good morning, you two." He called cheerfully. They smiled to him and stood up, dusting there clothes off.  
  
"What brings you out here, sir?" Rei asked politely. Mr. Dickenson smiled and nodded to Mariah.  
  
"This young lady has a cabin awaiting her." He announced. Mariah cheered. "The rest of your team mates have gone on ahead and taken your stuff to the lodge. You might want to hurry before they choose all of the rooms without you." Mariah nodded and followed the old man. When she noticed Rei wasn't with them she turned around and gave him a funny look.  
  
"Are you coming?" she asked. He shook his head and smiled.  
  
"Iie." He replied. "I think I'll just walk around for a little bit and stop by later." She nodded in understanding. Mr. Dickenson turned around and waited for Mariah to catch up.  
  
"Their lodge is the one closest to the lake." He told Rei. "You know where that is right?"  
  
"Hai, I've walked past it a few times." Mariah waved goodbye and followed Mr. Dickenson to her cabin.  
  
***  
  
Rei wandered around the mountain range before finally heading to the lake. When he came out of the woods he could see the tiny cabin just around the bend in the lake. He walked slowly around the water's edge, enjoying the fresh breeze that swept past him. Just a few feet ahead of him were a handful of guys. They looked to be around twenty and as they got closer, Rei faintly recognised them from the night he was a chibi. They were some of the students that had attacked him and Li. He lowered his eyes to the ground and tried not to attract their attention.  
  
A few of them looked outraged about something and when they walked closer, Rei could hear that the owner of the lodging company had kicked them out of their cabin for drinking all the time and not paying their bill. When they saw Rei they didn't recognise him as the chibi, but did see him as a way to take out their anger.  
  
They purposely slammed into him and yelled at him.  
  
"Watch where you're going kid!" one of them screamed. Rei looked up and mumbled his apologies. He really didn't want to get into a fight with them, knowing one of them was the one who had shot Li.  
  
"You don't have to be so rude." He muttered under his breath and kept walking. They unfortunately heard his words and grabbed him back. The guy who had grabbed him and threatened him from the night before, twisted his arm behind his back and slammed his fist into Rei's face.  
  
"That'll teach you to mouth off to your elders." He sneered. Rei narrowed his eyes and fought to get his arm released. Using his free arm he punched the guy back.  
  
"Get lost." He spat. The guy held his cheek and found that Rei had split his lip. He growled and threw another fist into Rei's gut. Rei sagged over and held his stomach in pain. The wind had been knocked out of him and he was gasping for breath. They let go of his arm and he fell to the ground. He stood up, shakily, and threw fists at the closest person to him. This was the wrong thing to do because he was alone against five guys who were at least five years older than him and were probably drunk as hell. They ganged up on him and took turns punching and kicking him. The first guy to punch him pulled Rei up so that he was standing and back handed him across his face.  
  
It occurred to Rei that the slap hurt more than it should have and he raised a palm to his cheek. The skin had been torn deeply and the whole left side of his face was covered in blood. He looked up at the guy and saw a small blade glinting between the man's fingers. He swore under his breath and lunged at the guy, catching him off guard. They crashed to the ground and Rei immediately began pounding his assailant with fists. Two of the students grabbed Rei's arms and flung him off.  
  
"So you're a strong fighter." The student sneered. He was stained with Rei's blood. "We'll see when I'm through with you." He nodded to his friends and they stepped away while the man grabbed his arms again and pinned him to the ground using his legs. Rei suddenly realised that he was a great deal smaller than everyone else. He would have a lot of trouble getting out of his grip. He leaned down on Rei and kissed him painfully, licking lustfully at the smearing of blood that was starting to dry on his face.  
  
Rei felt a new burst of energy and fought against the guy's hands until one of his arms was free. He used his advantage to slam his fish into the other guy's nose and try to push him off.  
  
"Get off me!" he screamed, pounding away at his chest. The guy laughed. "Kai! Help me!"  
  
"Do you really think your girlfriend will come and save you?" he chuckled hoarsely. "No one's going to save you from me." Rei didn't give up. He began screaming again.  
  
"LI! TAKAO!!! KAI!!!!" He continued to scream for his friends. Having enough of his shrill cries for help, the man stifled his mouth by crushing his lips back down to Rei's. He tried to slip his tongue into Rei's mouth, but jerked back when Rei bit down hard.  
  
"You stupid fucking bastard." He yelled and punched him hard. He began to finger Rei's shirt thoughtfully and when he came to a decision he used the blade to roughly tear it off. Rei continued to struggle, but it didn't do any good. The guy discarded his shirt and lowered his mouth to Rei's neck, kissing and biting at it roughly. He began to grind his hips into Rei's, making the Chinese boy cry out in disgust. The motion was much faster and harsher than Kai had ever been, and he was revolted that his body was enjoying the foreign touches.  
  
"KAI!!" He screamed again, knowing no one was close enough to hear him. "Someone... save me." He whispered, close to tears at his sudden despair. He received another blow to the face for his cries. Even though he knew no one would save him, Rei refused to give up. That would mean that this would be as much his fault as the man on top of him. He snarled back at the man who hit him and struggled again, screaming at the top of his lungs. The guy's eye's flashed red in anger and he thrust the blade into Rei's shoulder.  
  
Rei's screams of help turned into cries of agony and a tear slipped out of his now sealed eyes. The man moved himself lower on Rei's body and went to remove his pants, planting rough kissed all the way down Rei's torso. Rei continued to scream.  
  
***  
  
Rounding a corner, Takao and the rest of the Bladebreakers walked slowly towards the White Tiger's cabin. They were going to invite them to the hot springs, and see if Rei wanted to come too. They assumed he was still with Mariah.  
  
"What was that?" Takao asked, hearing something in the distance. The others looked at each other and shrugged. They couldn't hear anything.  
  
"Takao, what the hell are you talking about?" Kai glared at him. Takao pointed towards the lake they were walking too.  
  
"I heard screaming coming from over there." He exclaimed. Suddenly another scream echoed through the woods, a bit louder than the first. Everyone stopped in their tracks.  
  
"There! You all heard it, too, ne?" he saw their surprised faces. The yell came again, straining to be as loud as possible.  
  
"KAI!!" Kai's head shot up and in an instant he was off and running. He recognised the voice immediately and could hear the desperate urgency in the voice. Takao, Max and Kenny ran after him, wondering who would be calling for Kai.  
  
"Kenny, get Li!" Kai ordered, but didn't dare slow down. Kenny nodded and branched off towards the White Tiger's cabin. They came out of the forest and saw the group of college students standing around in a group. And he saw Rei.  
  
He had managed to get his hands free again and was in the process of pulling his boxers up and striking the guy who was trying to attack him.  
  
"Get off me, NOW!" He screamed throwing all his rage into his fists. The guy wouldn't give up though and he pushed Rei back down into the dirt. Rei screamed as more dirt was ground into the cuts that littered his body.  
  
Kai ran full force at the guy who had Rei pinned to the ground and tackled him off Rei's battered body. He had his eyes sealed shut and refused to open them, for fear that he would come back. Takao and Max pull out their Beyblades and launch them at the others who looked as though they were going to help their friend. Max's Draciel shot in between them and Kai and was acting like the defensive blade it was. Dragoon on the other hand, was bouncing all over the place, randomly slamming into each of them.  
  
Li and the rest of his team had come out of their cabin and were running to the lake as Kenny had told them to. They found the area in a mess. Kai was still beating Rei's attacker senseless, and Takao and Max were having trouble keeping the other four guys away from Kai.  
  
"Rei!" Mariah screamed when she spotted their friend lying in a pool of his own blood. He had his eyes sealed shut tightly and wasn't moving. His clothes were in tattered strips all around him and he was bleeding from a number of different wounds. They ran into the fight, Mariah protecting Rei, Kevin and Gary helping Takao and Max, and Li had singled out one of the college students who had escaped from Max and Takao's defence and was making his way to help his friend. He immediately recognised him as the man from two nights ago who had clumsily aimed the gun at him.  
  
He snarled and tackled him to the ground, before he could get close enough. He picked up a rock from the shore and slammed it into his head. He had pulled out a knife and was planning on slitting Kai's throat. With the guy unconscious, the fighting stopped.  
  
Everyone had their blades aimed at someone's head, ready and willing to launch the final blow.  
  
"Leave now." Takao stated, more serious than anyone had ever seen him. His eyes had narrowed to such a glare that would be enough to rival any one of Kai's. They held up their hands in retreat and ran. One stopped to drag back the man Li had been struggling with, but none of them dared go near Kai.  
  
He was still punching the life out of the guy beneath him. It took Li and Takao to finally drag him away from the man.  
  
"Fucking bastard." Kai snarled to the unconscious body. Takao held him back before he could go into another round of one-sided fighting, while Li gently picked up Rei's limp body.  
  
Rei cracked an amber eye open, sensing that no one was going to hurt him and peered up at Li.  
  
"Kai." He stated. He wanted Kai. Takao let go of his shoulders and he walked up beside Li. Rei tilted his head back to see Kai and he smiled. Kai took his hand and rubbed it gently, his face expressionless. He was trying to forget his anger enough to offer Rei a smile.  
  
"Those were the same men who attacked me and Rei the other night." Li whispered softly. Everyone looked up at him surprised.  
  
"Rei went looking for them?" Takao's forehead creased in frustration. "Why would he do that?"  
  
"I don't think he did." Li responded, looking down at Rei. "They were drunk. And he knew they carried weapons. I think they found him." Rei winced as Li's arm came in contact with a raw wound.  
  
"Kai." He breathed again, struggling to stay strong and not collapse into a weeping mess. "Help me up." He asked. Li let him down gently and Rei stood up, leaning heavily on Kai.  
  
"Why don't we still go to the springs?" Kai suggested. "The hot water can calm you down and clean out your wounds." Rei nodded. He just wanted to stay away from the lake for a while. Kai wrapped an arm around Rei's bare waist and led him towards the hot springs.  
  
***  
  
When they got to the springs, everyone changed and slid into the warm water. Rei secluded himself away from the others, curling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. He didn't think he could handle the pitying glances everyone kept giving him. He wasn't weak. He didn't need them to feel sorry for him, especially since it didn't make it go away. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting his imagination conjure up all his happiest memories to distract him from remembering.  
  
Kai looked over at Rei and frowned at his state. He didn't want to see his love sink into deep despair and depression. He knew that Rei was in shock and if he cut himself off from his friends he wouldn't be able to make his life normal again. He waded over to Rei and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder.  
  
Rei jumped and buried his face in his knees. Kai smiled gently and sat down beside him, keeping his hand firmly on his shoulder.  
  
"It's only me." He whispered. Rei slowly lifted his head and looked into Kai's eyes. They held absolutely no pity, only warmth. "We'll get through this. I'm not leaving you." A small smile made its way to Rei's face. He was grateful that he had Kai.  
  
"Hold me." He breathed. His memories had seemed to mould themselves with the recent event and turned horrific. Kai nodded, sensing the desperate urgency in his request and pulled Rei to his chest. Rei began to sob violently into his shoulder. He uncurled himself and wrapped his arms and legs around Kai's body. Kai only held him tighter. He ran his fingers through Rei's long raven hair and sighed.  
  
"Oh, Rei. What did they do to you?" He asked, not really knowing if Rei would tell him. Rei leaned closed and turned his head so his mouth was near Kai's ear.  
  
"I was walking to the White Tiger's cabin and they were walking away from it." He whispered. He wanted to tell Kai everything. "I tried to avoid them. I knew they were trouble, but they slammed into me. Then they started to hit me... out of nowhere. I tried to fight back, I knew that's what you would have done, but they kept punching me. And then the one guy... he slapped me... he had a knife in his hand. My blood was everywhere. Then he tried to kiss me. I bit down on his tongue and that's when he started..." he trailed off, his voice not letting him go any further. "I was so afraid and I tried to call for you. But at the same time I was so angry. I felt that if I didn't fight him, if I gave up, I'd be just as bad as him. That's what made me so angry... I wanted so badly to just give up and get it over with." He held Kai tighter. Kai's brows creased in frustration. If only they had left sooner. There were too many 'ifs'. He closed his eyes and rested his head against Rei's.  
  
"It's okay to be afraid." He whispered, reassuringly. "Not everyone is expected to be brave under all circumstances."  
  
"Kai, can I ask you for something?" Rei asked after a few minutes. Kai pulled back and looked down.  
  
"Of course." He replied. Rei looked away.  
  
"Can you bite me?" He asked. "I can't get the images out of my head. I just want to sleep." Kai looked up nervously at the others who were keeping at least one eye on Rei at all times. If he bit Rei now, everyone would know about his secret. He looked back down at Rei and nodded. Rei needed this more than he needed to keep his secret. He pushed aside Rei's hair with his nose and sunk his teeth in deep.  
  
"What are you doing to him?!" Mariah screamed, being the first to notice Kai's teeth. She stood up and tried to run at Kai. The water slowed her down enough for Li to grab her by the arm. Rei fell limp in his arms as he licked away the blood. It wasn't much blood, just enough to keep Rei out of it for a while.  
  
"You're a vampire!" Li cried when Kai raised his head to look at his audience. His fangs were still visible.  
  
"How the hell could you do that to Rei at a time like this?" Takao yelled. Kai gave them all a pained look before burying his head in Rei's hair, hoping to drown out their cries of disgust and protest.  
  
Kenny grabbed Takao's arm, stopping the boy from going after Kai.  
  
"Why did you bite Rei, Kai?" he asked gently. Takao whirled around and looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"Don't tell me you knew about him already?" he demanded. Kenny nodded, but kept his eyes on Kai.  
  
"He only wanted to sleep." Kai whispered, loud enough for them all to hear. "He asked me to." Everyone looked surprised.  
  
"He knew about you?" Ma asked, startled. Kai nodded, his face still hidden in the raven locks.  
  
"Hai. When I collapsed in the hills... it was from lack of blood. He-I... he offered and I refused, but he kept pressing me... he was already immortal... he just slept." Kai looked up at them, a blank look on his face. Mariah and Takao stopped fighting against their holds.  
  
"Will he be okay?" Mariah asked softly, looking sorrowfully at Rei's limp body. Kai nodded curtly.  
  
"He'll wake up by tomorrow morning." He replied. They all nodded and sat back down. They understood Rei's plea for escape.  
  
Kai stayed with Rei for a few more minutes in the water before lifting them both out.  
  
"I'll take Rei back to our cabin." He announced to the others and carried Rei out of the hot springs. Their clothes were beside a tree. He let go of Rei's legs and bent over to pick everything up. He carefully wrapped Rei up in a large towel and threw one over his head to keep away the cool night breeze. Picking the rest of their things up, he carried Rei the rest of the way back to their lodge.  
  
***  
  
When they finally got back to their shared room, Kai shook Rei awake.  
  
"Wake up!" He yelled. "You have to get undressed and then you can sleep more." Rei nodded and drowsily grabbed his clothes and slowly dragged his feet into the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later, ready for bed and collapsed into Kai's arms. Kai smiled down at Rei.  
  
"Can I sleep with you?" Rei asked. Kai blushed at the first thing that came to his head. He nodded and helped him over to his bed. He pulled the covers over themselves and noticed that Rei was already fast asleep, curled into his side. He had his arms wrapped tightly around Kai's waist. Kai bent his head and kissed the top of Rei's head gently. He had a good feeling that Rei would be okay tomorrow.  
  
~Finis  
  
Yep... it took me forever to finish this chapter... I got lazy and began to get bored with Beyblade... it's not on TV anymore... this exact same thing happened to me with CCS... but luckily I kept going before I could totally get rid of my liking of Beyblade. Plus I still have a tape that has the Russian tournament on it with episodes I refused to watch... you know... the ones where Kai is acting all evil... so if it gets desperate enough I can watch those. Then the next season should be here (I hope...).  
  
In advance I'd like to write my will and apologise for the next chapter. I'm SORRY!!! Oh, and to Cindy... it's Kai. If you're not Cindy you won't understand... (Hopefully she doesn't either... or else I'll get murdered before anyone sees the next chapter).  
  
Chapter 8: Of Virgins and Poison Ivy (Nice title, ne?)  
  
"Everyone knows about me now." He said softly. Rei looked surprised. He thought back to just before he fell asleep and realised what he was really asking of Kai. He gasped and put a hand to his mouth.  
  
"Oh, shit." He cursed. "Gomen, gomen nasai." He apologised. Kai looked up at him, his eyes hardened, but his mouth gave Rei a tiny smile.  
  
"It was unavoidable." He said. "I don't really care what they all think anyways." Rei nodded. They sat down at the table and Takao opened his mouth, which, surprisingly enough, had no food in it. Yet.  
  
"So I guess you're no longer a virgin, ne Rei?" he asked, waving his fork suggestively. Kenny and Max looked appalled that he would even bring that up.  
  
"Takao!?" Max cried. Rei blushed.  
  
"That's not the kind of thing you ask at breakfast... or any other time either." Kenny exclaimed. Kai looked pale.  
  
"Who said I was a virgin to begin with?" Rei asked quietly, attracting all eyes to him, except Kai who spat out the food he had been chewing and started choking.  
  
"What?!" They all screamed. Rei laughed.  
  
"You're all assuming I was a virgin before me and Kai slept together." He stated. Kai's face went from pure white to deep red.  
  
"Now wait a minute, we didn't..." He trailed off at Rei's glare.  
  
"In answer to your question, Takao, Iie. I'm still a virgin." Rei answered. Everyone let out the breath they were collectively holding. Rei snickered at their expressions. "I've never slept with anyone. Not even Kai." He added.  
  
"But all those noises." Takao whined. Kai rolled his eyes and Rei blushed slightly.  
  
"What about the noises?" Kai asked shooting the younger boy a sharp glare.  
  
"Well, there's the moaning, the groaning, the bumping into walls, the bed creaking, and the list goes on." Takao listed, ticking off his fingers. Kai stood up from the table and snorted.  
  
"You're such an asshole, Takao." He replied, walking back to his room, not liking the breakfast conversation.  
  
"So what about your virginity, Hiwatari?" Takao called out before Kai left the room. He stopped for a moment, as if caught in a memory and almost looked back to the table.  
  
"I-I don't want to talk about it." He stammered and slammed the bedroom door shut angrily...  
  
DON'T KILL ME!!!  
  
Oh and to chibi kitty, I have yet to get writer's block. I'm actually working on the tenth chapter as I type. And I have chappie eight ready to go. I'm just waiting for a bit... that way the chapters come out evenly enough to get feedback on each of them.  
  
(Wow... seventy reviews... that's a hell of a lot more than I ever expected to get... thank you so much to everyone who is reviewing!!!!!!) 


	8. Of Virgins and Poison Ivy

Ok, so I haven't finished typing chapter nine yet, but I do have good news. I have finished writing the point form notes for this story in my notebook so I can tell you all how many official chapters this story will have. Eleven. It's not exactly the happy ending everyone is hoping for, but I needed some sort of conflict between Rei and Kai... okay, maybe I've said too much. Read on...  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter 8: Of Virgins and Poison Ivy  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Rei woke up, the previous day's incident behind him. He looked up at Kai and realised he was still asleep. He grinned sneakily and poked him in the stomach. Kai groaned and swatted his hand away. He snickered.  
  
"I don't want to get up." Kai mumbled. Rei sighed. Kai wasn't likely to be easy to wake up. Rei just had to make him 'want' to get out of bed.  
  
"I bet I can screw you better than Rei." He whispered into Kai's ear, a dead-on impersonation of Takao.  
  
"Fuck off and keep dreaming." Kai muttered. He moaned and rolled away from him. Rei snickered at Kai's response.  
  
Struck with an idea, Rei scrambled over Kai's body and began to kiss him. He felt Kai's mouth form a grin and he began to kiss back, but he still wasn't out of bed. Rei rolled Kai onto his back and straddled his waist with his legs. He began to rock his hips against Kai's groin in rhythm with the kisses. Kai moaned long into the kisses. Rei could feel his plan working, just a few more things. He moved his head down the side of Kai's neck and nipped at his ear before licking his neck, just below his ear. He growled low into Kai's ear and moved his hands slowly lower. Kai still hadn't moved anything but his mouth.  
  
Rei moved his lips back to Kai's and his hands rested on his hips. Kai started to move his hands to Rei's head to put more passion into the kiss, when Rei pulled back and jumped off the bed. He was grinning like mad.  
  
"Rei." Kai moaned and cracked one eye open to glare at the boy who stopped.  
  
"You'll get more if you get up." Rei snickered, watching Kai think it over in his head. He opened his other eye and gave him the worst look he could manage. Rei continued to find amusement in Kai's anger.  
  
Suddenly, Kai jumped from the bed with fluid grace, and pinned Rei to the wall behind him. He kissed Rei hard and smiled when he felt no hesitation in Rei's response. He was glad to see that Rei was over his near-rape.  
  
Rei wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and lifted one leg to curl it around Kai's. He began to mould his body into Kai's. Within seconds both of their shirts were gone and Rei had his thumbs hooked into the waistband of Kai's boxers. Kai wrapped his arms around Rei's neck, pulling them closer.  
  
A knock sounded from the door and an irritating voice called out through the wood. "When you two are done screwing each other breakfast will be cold." Takao taunted through the closed door, not realising how lucky he was not to be in Kai's immediate reach. They stepped back from each other, both out of breath and blushing bright red at how far they went.  
  
Rei chuckled nervously as Kai pulled up his boxers. They had managed to slide from his waist to just a few inches below his hips. Rei pulled back on his shirt and handed Kai's to him as he walked out of the room. Kai followed and they went into the kitchen.  
  
"How are you feeling now?" Max asked Rei hesitantly, afraid that he'd upset Rei. Rei smiled at him.  
  
"It's all behind me." He replied. Everyone sighed in relief. Kai began to fidget with his hands, attracting Rei's attention. He raised an eyebrow at him, but Kai kept his eyes on his hands.  
  
"Everyone knows about me now." He said softly. Rei looked surprised. He thought back to just before he fell asleep and realised what he was really asking of Kai. He gasped and put a hand to his mouth.  
  
"Oh, shit." He cursed. "Gomen, gomen nasai." He apologised. Kai looked up at him, his eyes hardened, but his mouth gave Rei a tiny smile.  
  
"It was unavoidable." He said. "I don't really care what they all think anyways." Rei nodded. They sat down at the table and Takao opened his mouth, which, surprisingly enough, had no food in it. Yet.  
  
"So I guess you're no longer a virgin, ne Rei?" he asked, waving his fork suggestively. Kenny and Max looked appalled that he would even bring that up.  
  
"Takao!?" Max cried. Rei blushed.  
  
"That's not the kind of thing you ask at breakfast... or any other time either." Kenny exclaimed. Kai looked pale.  
  
"Who said I was a virgin to begin with?" Rei asked quietly, attracting all eyes to him, except Kai who spat out the food he had been chewing and started choking.  
  
"What?!" They all screamed. Rei laughed.  
  
"You're all assuming I was a virgin before me and Kai slept together." He stated. Kai's face went from pure white to deep red.  
  
"Now wait a minute, we didn't..." He trailed off at Rei's glare.  
  
"In answer to your question, Takao, Iie. I'm still a virgin." Rei answered. Everyone let out the breath they were collectively holding. Rei snickered at their expressions. "I've never slept with anyone. Not even Kai." He added.  
  
"But all those noises." Takao whined. Kai rolled his eyes and Rei blushed slightly.  
  
"What about the noises?" Kai asked shooting the younger boy a sharp glare.  
  
"Well, there's the moaning, the groaning, the bumping into walls, the bed creaking, and the list goes on." Takao listed, ticking off his fingers. Kai stood up from the table and snorted.  
  
"You're such an asshole, Takao." He replied, walking back to his room, not liking the breakfast conversation.  
  
"So what about your virginity, Hiwatari?" Takao called out before Kai left the room. He stopped for a moment, as if caught in a memory and almost looked back to the table.  
  
"I-I don't want to talk about it." He stammered and slammed the bedroom door shut angrily. Everyone looked at each other in surprise except Rei. He was still staring at the spot where Kai had been.  
  
He jumped up and followed Kai into the room. The door wasn't locked and he quietly opened the door. The door slammed shut when Rei walked in, revealing Kai behind it. Rei spun around to face Kai and stepped closer.  
  
"What did you mean by 'I don't want to..." he trailed off, seeing it plainly in his eyes. "You're not a virgin, are you?" Rei asked, knowing the answer. Kai looked down.  
  
"Sorry." He muttered, sounding disgusted with himself. Rei was surprised. "If I had been asked that question before we went to Europe two years ago, I could have declared my virginity with as much honesty as any of you." Kai explained, sitting down on the bed.  
  
"You slept with someone after the tournament?" Rei asked, not wanting to believe Kai would sleep with just anyone.  
  
"Hell no!" Kai exclaimed, abashed. "Not while I was attracted to you." He added.  
  
"But you said-" Rei pointed out. Kai interrupted him.  
  
"Repressed memory." Kai tapped his head. "Returning to Russia, I began remembering everything from my childhood there."  
  
"Haven't you lived in Japan since you were seven or something, or that's what Takao told me?" Rei remembered what Takao had told them when they first formed the Bladebreakers team, and he had been warned to stay away from Kai.  
  
"Hai." Kai nodded. Rei gave him a confused look.  
  
"And this happened before you left Russia, right?" he asked, trying to sort everything out in his mind.  
  
"Hai." Kai nodded again.  
  
"But you were nothing but a child, how could you-" Kai interrupted him again  
  
"I didn't." he whispered, knowing where Rei was going. "At least, I didn't want to. That's how I knew how long mortals should have been knocked out for. When I was first bitten by my grandfather, he brought me my first blood. He was a man-servant and although I was thoroughly disgusted, I was so new to it and I couldn't control the urges. I guess a few months later he decided to repay the favour." Rei gasped.  
  
"The servant?!" he cried. He couldn't believe that someone working in his house had gotten away with something like that.  
  
"Hai." Kai exclaimed softly. He didn't want to look at Rei. "He was my grandfather's closest advisors and I'd be terribly surprised if my grandfather didn't know about what happened long before it occurred." This confession disturbed Rei the most. He couldn't conceive of a man who would allow such a thing to happen to his own flesh and blood. It almost mad him want to hurl.  
  
"Kai, you don't have to tell me all of this." He whispered, offering his support by placing his hand gently on Kai's shoulder. Kai looked up, his expression cold and emotionless. He shook his head.  
  
"I know, but I need to, I want to." He replied. "He... he pushed me down onto the bed in my room." Kai looked back down to his lap and began shaking, allowing his memories to resurface.  
  
"Kai..." Rei whispered, disturbed at the effect this was having on the normally unshakable boy. Kai began to relive the event in his mind, not fully aware of Rei's presence anymore. Rei pulled Kai closer to him and held one of his cold hands.  
  
"I screamed for help, like you. I kicked and punched but no one came. I think he got frustrated with me fighting him and tied me down. I must have stopped screaming when he told me it turned him on, aroused him. Somewhere in the midst of it all, I began to cry. Maybe it was before he ripped off my clothes or maybe it was right in the middle of the whole thing. He just... he just laughed at me." A lot of what Rei was hearing was beginning to frighten him. To know that what almost happened to him last night really did happen to his lover, scared him deeply. Kai would be scarred for life with this.  
  
"Kai, you don't have to do this to yourself." He offered, hoping that Kai would stop and let himself get back in control of his emotions. He knew Kai wouldn't and he didn't want to think of what would happen to him if he did let it all sink beneath his consciousness again. "You don't have to torture yourself like this."  
  
"I can't keep this inside anymore, not when I could see him anywhere." Kai whispered. His hands were shaking and his eyes were closed, but he didn't cry. "Around every corner, in every shop, in every seat in every Beystadium. He could very well be the next person to walk through that door, and if I don't have someone else who knows then I might start to believe his words again. That I brought it on myself. I deserved it. I caused it to happen." Rei pulled Kai into his arms and gently stroked his back.  
  
"No, Kai." He whispered. "You're never going to be alone with me and the others around. I'll make sure you never sink low enough to believe you caused that."  
  
"Thank you." Kai spoke quietly into Rei's ear. He was still shaking, but Rei's embrace seemed to calm him down a bit and give him the courage to keep going. "I remember that laugh. Sometimes in the worst nightmares I can hear his laugh and it sends chills down my spine. His grip was so tight on my arms and his nails left marks all over my body. And it hurt. Shit, it hurt. Like my entire body was being punched over and over, when it was only one spot. Then he left me. Tied to the bed, body sticky and sheets covered in what I now know to be lots and lots of my blood. I must have stayed there for a few days before I sat up and finally untied my hands and showered. I scrubbed and scrubbed until my skin was raw, hoping to get rid of his marks, but I still felt like shit and in my mind I still saw the scratches everywhere. I got out and when I looked in the mirror I saw a tear-stained stranger looking back at me. I couldn't wash away the tears either, so I came up with the next best thing. Face paint." He brought a hand to his cheeks where the ever-present triangles were. "I thought if no one could see the tears, no one would know what happened. But he did. I had made myself forget... until I returned to the abbey." Rei was shocked.  
  
"The one we all visited?" he asked, pulling back a bit to look Kai in the eyes. They were a bit glazed over, but they didn't look like they were close to tears. Kai had taught himself not to cry, under any circumstances.  
  
"Hai." He snarled, remembering the day they went to visit the abbey. "He was there, smug bastard. And at first I didn't even recognise him. He was nothing more than another person we met with Mr. Dickenson, but when I went deeper into the tunnels I began to remember the screaming and the pain. And when I joined the Demolition Boys, he tried to tell me what to do, but I ignored him. I just wanted it all to go away and leave me in peace. But he wouldn't let me forget." He narrowed his eyes at a space just over Rei's shoulder. Rei looked at Kai seriously and drew his face so that he was looking straight at Rei.  
  
"Kai, who was the servant?" He demanded. He needed to know who that man was in order to keep Kai away from him. "Who... who raped you?"  
  
"It was Boris." Kai exclaimed, looking down at his lap once more. "Boris." He repeated.  
  
"I'm never going to let him lay one slimy finger on you." Rei said, knowingly. He winked at Kai and gave him a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "If he does, I'll have to go 'Psycho Kitty' on him and bite his head off." He smirked. Kai looked up at him and smiled, too. Rei's humour was contagious.  
  
***  
  
A few minutes later they were lying on Kai's bed, back-to-back, elbows locked and legs tangled together. They had decided to switch topics.  
  
"Have you ever ate a house plant?" Rei asked, trying vainly to stifle giggles. Kai almost turned his head to give him a nasty look.  
  
"You *ate* a house plant?" he asked disbelievingly. It just so happened that nine times out of ten, the question being asked had already been done by the asker. Rei snickered and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, but it wasn't a house plant tough." He explained. "I was eight, I think, and me and the other village children were playing outside. Gary said it was a plant you could eat. No body really believed him, so Li dared me to try it. I did and it ended up being a poison ivy leaf." Kai shuddered. "You have no idea. I began to choke on it and they all brought me to the healer. When we described the plant to her she laughed and told us what it was. Li said he knew exactly what to do to fix it. He told us that when ever he was playing in the poison ivy his grandfather would douse him in camomile lotion. By then the healer had gone on to treat another patient in need of care, so she didn't hear what Li was saying. He found a bottle in one of her cupboards and made me drink the entire thing, saying it would make the itchies go away." Kai burst out laughing. "Well I spent two weeks in the healer's house trying to get over the poison ivy AND the camomile drink." Kai was having trouble speaking, he was laughing so hard. Rei smiled. He had never heard Kai laugh so much, and it gave him great pride to know he had caused it, even though he was laughing *at* Rei and not with him.  
  
"Well that's pretty gross." Kai exclaimed when his laughter subsided. "But, no I have never eaten a plant. Not that I remember anyways. I have, on the other hand, swallowed money." Rei snickered.  
  
"How did you manage that?" He asked, bewildered.  
  
"My grandfather was going to 'keep' all my money for me to inherit when I got older, but I didn't want him to have all my cash... so I swallowed all of the coins." Rei couldn't stop the giggles.  
  
"How many?" Rei asked.  
  
"I think I had about ten or so." Kai replied. Rei was killing himself with what he was learning from Kai. So far he learned that Kai had drugged someone's drink with sleeping pills, entered a karaoke singing contest (but dropped out at the very last minute), and injured himself to get out of eating dinner with one of his grandfather's clients. Kai had learned that Rei was indeed a wild cat. So far Rei had confessed to attacking a police officer, seeing Li's grandfather nude (not a pretty sight), writing his name in the snow in urine, and tying someone's shoes together to see them fall. It had been an ongoing war between him and Li to see who could fall for it the most. Rei won.  
  
"Ok, have you ever... slept with a stuffed animal?" Rei asked.  
  
"What?" Kai asked, his mind on other things. Rei snickered.  
  
"I mean as in cuddled with a bear or something as a child?" he elaborated. Kai shook his head.  
  
"Iie. I was never allowed to have any toys." He explained. Rei sighed.  
  
"You sure lived the rough life." Rei stated. Kai nodded.  
  
"Have you ever been dressed in girl's clothes?" Kai asked.  
  
"Yeah, all the time." Rei laughed. He couldn't picture Kai in a dress. "That was one of the disadvantages of living with Mariah. She loved to play dress up. And when Li and me would bury her dolls she began to use us." Kai laughed. "You were dressed in girl's clothes?" Rei asked.  
  
"Hai. Before my parents died, we used to have a neighbour who was a girl. She'd come over everyday and dress me up. I hated it, but since our parents were friends I put up with it." Rei chuckled softly to himself.  
  
When they had run out of embarrassing things to outdo each other with, they began to see who had the most depressing life.  
  
"Well, I saw both of my parents murdered." Rei shot back to counter one of Kai's statements. Kai snorted.  
  
"Me, too." He exclaimed, not impressed. Rei frowned and tried to think of something else.  
  
"Well I was nearly raped." He said the first thing that came to his mouth. Kai laughed.  
  
"I was raped." Rei could almost hear the smirk in Kai's voice.  
  
"I tried to commit suicide." Rei forced out. He had hid that from everyone he knew. "I tried to hang my self and Li found me before I was through and cut me down. Then he proceeded to beat the crap out of me for trying to escape my problems." Kai remained silent for a few moments.  
  
"I never actually tried, but I have thought many times about killing myself." Kai replied, reassuring Rei that he wasn't alone. Rei smiled.  
  
"So I guess I've got you on that one." He commented.  
  
"How about this, I was beaten in the finals by Takao." Kai retorted.  
  
"I have you beaten on two counts there." Rei replied. "I forfeited the semi- finals to Takao and I was literally beaten up by a girl."  
  
"Not only did I lose, not a chance of a win, but it was TAKAO!" Kai exclaimed. Rei burst out laughing.  
  
"Ok, so maybe you do get that one." Kai snorted, knowing full well how humiliating it was.  
  
"Well, my first bit-beast refused to listen to me." Rei put in.  
  
"You mean Driger wasn't you're first beast?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Well my second bit-beast tried to take over my life." Kai came back with. Rei laughed. "Not to mention I'm a vampire and I've basically lived underground for the first half of my life." Rei shook his head.  
  
"You're really desperate to have the most depressing life, ne?"  
  
"Hn." Kai replied, coolly.  
  
"So, my first girlfriend only wanted to go out with me to get back at her ex-boyfriend for cheating on her. She slapped me across the face to make him mad and then kissed me. I have never been so confused in my whole life. And then her ex-boyfriend came up to us and introduced me to his fist a number of times. I never saw her again after that." Kai laughed at the picture Rei painted in his mind.  
  
"I lost my bit-beast in the finals." Kai thought back to the Russian tournament. Rei laughed.  
  
"I've got you beat there." He explained. "I lost my bit-beast outside of the tournament. And it wasn't to a spirit sucking blader, either." Kai laughed, remembering when Rei had lost Driger battling Kevin.  
  
"I guess we tie then?" he asked. He couldn't think of any more depressing things.  
  
"Oh, you giving up?" Rei asked, smugly. He couldn't think of anything else either, but he wasn't about to let Kai know that. Kai didn't reply, instead he unlocked their elbows and rolled on top of Rei. Rei looked into Kai's eyes.  
  
"You don't have to do this." He exclaimed, reminding both of them of the confession just minutes earlier. Kai shrugged.  
  
"I'm used to forgetting things, remember?" He smirked. Rei sighed. He rolled his eyes and gave Rei a withering stare.  
  
"I don't like reliving it, but it's in the past." He said calmly. "I'm not going to let you ruin the mood." He lowered his lips to Rei and kissed him with enough fire to rival any other kiss he had given him. Rei kissed him back, holding their heads together.  
  
"Why are you always on top?" He whined when they broke the kiss.  
  
"Because I want to be on the top." Kai whispered, his voice full of authority. Rei shook his head.  
  
"No, it's because I let you." He retorted, and stuck his tongue out playfully. Kai caught the tongue with his own and sealed their lips together again, growling at Rei's comments. They began a battle for supremacy which only ended when Rei fell out of the bed and onto the floor. Kai began laughing. Rei shot him a glare, which he pointedly ignored. Rei walked slowly over to his bed and pushed it together with Kai's.  
  
"Why didn't you do that sooner?" Kai asked, smoothly.  
  
"I was slightly busy with more important things." Rei replied and pounced on him, proving how important those other things really were. Kai smiled and they began their fighting again.  
  
***  
  
"They're at it again." Takao exclaimed, rolling his eyes. The rest of the breakfast table laughed at this.  
  
"Did you hear anything interesting?" Max asked, interested in why Kai and Rei left the table so quickly. Takao shook his head.  
  
"I thought for a moment I could hear Kai crying, but maybe I need to get my ears checked.  
  
"Kai, crying?" Kenny asked.  
  
"No way." The all exclaimed at once and laughed, finishing their breakfast.  
  
~Finis  
  
Okay, that really wasn't supposed to be the ending of chapter eight, but I just realized that it was so long... it would have been almost as long as chapter four. So that means that there'll probably be one more chapter. Hmm... so this will end in about three chapters. Oh, no!! I'm falling behind. I haven't properly finished chapter nine yet! I guess I'll have to write more in my notebook before I type up anymore. (I'm also hoping most of you have forgotten what I said in the first part about Kai and Rei's ending... )  
  
Ja ne, and please review! I'd just like to hear what you think of mah story. E-mail is still the same so you could always send your reviews there too.  
  
*NOTE* This story has been re-posted due to the fact that this stupid site deleted it the first time around... I won't be posting another chapter for a while because I have lots of things going on in my life and I'm not actually allowed near a computer at home. I'm sorry for those of you who have already reviewed but they are no longer accounted for on ff.n... however (yes, there is a but) I never deleted any review alerts that sent me all my reviews so I can still read them.  
  
Please Review... even if it's again... I need the reviews to get me out of my depressed state...  
  
Oh, and I just heard about that petition to get Oliver Killer banned from ff.n... YAY!!! Even though I've made peace with the five flames I've received from her for the only two stories I've posted here... I'd still be glad to see her get kicked off for the things she's said about me. Stupid idiot has no right saying anything bad about my fics when the crap she writes can't get any reviews of its own... (yes, I'm still a bit raw from getting this story deleted.) 


	9. To Be Continued

Okay, for the first time in months I actually feel like typing this up... strange. I'm extremely pissed off at fanfiction.net because they deleted this entire story. So don't mind me if I start ranting at the end. I also got a lot of e-mails and one review for AWFS asking what happened to this story. Well here's he big deal. My last summary was not G rated... I of course had no idea and would have gladly changed it immediately if I had been given a warning. Well, on the 27th of February I had just gotten my 100th review... along with an e-mail from ff.n admin saying that the summary was inappropriate and the entire story had been deleted AND my uploading access had been cut for an undesignated period of time. Every chapter had been wiped from the back up on my account and every review I had received was deleted... this leads me to believe that for those of you who left signed reviews... they are deleted and this story is no longer in your Review History. Sucks doesn't it?  
  
I originally had the whole events planned out for this chapter, but I decided to skip through them because I felt it made the story seem less mature than I wanted. This means that this chapter will probably be much shorter than it was originally supposed to be and will skip directly to the important shit.  
  
Immortal Blood Chapter 9: To Be Continued...  
  
After breakfast had been cleared away, Kai and Rei emerged, holding hands. Rei was smiling shyly while Kai held his regular stony expression.  
  
"I talked Kai into going for a swim down by the lake." Rei announced, his shy grin broadening. Kai crossed his arms and huffed. He muttered something inaudible under his breath that everyone knew was some sort of insult to Rei. Rei shrugged it off and laughed.  
  
"But what about yesterday?" Max asked, hinting to Rei's incident but not wanting to come right out and say it. "What if those guys are there again?" He asked. Rei shrugged.  
  
"I don't think so." He replied. "They were kicked out of this place so I doubt they'd be anywhere near this place, and were probably so drunk they didn't know what they were doing. I'm sure they aren't going to be waiting for us for revenge. I'd be surprised if they even knew who we were at the time." Takao and Max looked at him with an expression of pure confusion written on their features. Kai sighed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"We're famous." He told them as if they were the five-year-olds he thought they were. "People everywhere know who we are because of the world championships."  
  
"Oh." Takao exclaimed, nodding his head.  
  
"So do you guys want to go swimming or not?" Rei asked.  
  
"Sure!" They all exclaimed and rushed to their rooms to pull out their towels and suits.  
  
"Me and Kai will meet you guys there. We're going to see if the White Tigers want to come too." Rei called as they walked out the door and headed to the cabin near the lake, their gear tucked under their arms.  
  
***  
  
When they reached the lake they found that it was completely vacant. They walked towards the White Tiger's cabin and rapped lightly on the wooden door. Li opened it and peered out.  
  
"Hey!" He greeted enthusiastically and invited them in. "What can we help you with?" He asked his voice strained with false cheerfulness.  
  
Kai quirked his eyebrow at Li and watched as he seemed to deflate. Li's shoulders slumped and his head dropped.  
  
"What's with you?" Rei asked. Li shook his head.  
  
"Mariah's been grating on everyone's nerves." He replied. "And we're all afraid to anger her. It's just that there's nothing to do. All us guys are perfectly fine just relaxing but she just can't sit still for two minutes." He sighed again. Rei laughed.  
  
"Ah, yes, I remember. The wrath of Mariah." He chuckled. Kai frowned and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Did you guys want to come with us to the lake for a swim?" Rei asked, flashing their trunks. Li's face instantly brightened.  
  
"Yeah!" He cried. "This will get Mariah off our backs." Kai shook his head.  
  
"Isn't she supposed to be your girlfriend?" He asked bluntly. Li shrugged.  
  
"Supposedly, but not when she goes from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde in three seconds flat." Rei chuckled.  
  
"Who?" Kai asked, not knowing the reference.  
  
"It's a movie about a scientist who drank this potion that made him have two opposite personalities. One was nice and the other was dead freaky." Li explained. "We had a very small video collection in the village. That was our favourite, where as the girls seemed to prefer Titanic. What is with that John guy anyways?"  
  
"It was Jack!" Mariah yelled from the living room. "Jack Dawson. And you seemed to like it!" Li pouted and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Only the parts after the iceberg hit!" He retorted. "Want to go swimming Mariah?" He asked changing subjects.  
  
"So you can try to drown me! No way!" She hollered back.  
  
"I want to go!" Gary and Kevin replied and they rushed past the three at the door with their swimming gear in hand.  
  
"See you at the lake!" Kevin called. They seemed a little bit anxious to get away from Mariah.  
  
"Mariah!" Li tried again. "I thought you were bored? I promise I won't drown you!" he called. He grinned to Rei and Kai, already knowing she was going to come with them.  
  
"Fine!" She replied and came through to the front entrance, holding both their swimsuits and two large towels.  
  
***  
  
When they got to the lake they all changed in the stalls and rushed into the water to meet everyone else, who hadn't waited for them. Takao and Max were engaged in a full out water fight and Mariah climbed onto her boyfriend's shoulders to join the fight. After seeing that Mariah and Li had an advantage, Takao tried to clamber on to Max's shoulders but ended up toppling them into the water. Mariah threw her hands into the air and declared victory, but it was short-lived. Kevin had snuck up behind them and gently pushed Mariah's leg. Li began to lose balance and they fell into the water, too.  
  
"LI!" Mariah yelled accusingly at her boyfriend. He laughed at her drenched cat look and held up his hands in defence.  
  
"It wasn't my fault." He exclaimed, not really sounding convincing because he kept laughing. Mariah looked behind her and saw Kevin smirking evilly at her. She turned around fully and tried to wade through the water after him. He laughed at her efforts to speed up, but then noticed how close she was to catching him and decided to make a run for it.  
  
Once Mariah was close enough she began to send cascades of water flying at Kevin, occasionally hitting everyone else. This started a water war.  
  
"White Tigers against the Bladebreakers!" Li cried and grabbed hold of Rei's arm.  
  
"Hey!" Takao yelled in surprise. "He's a Bladebreaker! It's not fair! We have Kai!" Kai immediately took offence to this and pulled Takao back.  
  
"We'll win even without Rei on our team." He stated and they walked back to their side. Rei felt a little resentful that Kai was so sure that they were going to win without him and so agreed to be on the White Tiger's team.  
  
"Let's get them!" Takao screamed and launched at the nearest opponents with Max, who happened to be Gary and Kevin. Li on the other hand turned around and dunked Mariah, unsuspectingly.  
  
With Gary's big arms, Kevin hid while he did the splashing and deciding to do the same, Takao used Max as a human shield as well.  
  
"Takao!" He exclaimed in protest, holding his hands up to protect himself. Takao just laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around Max's waist.  
  
While Mariah was trying to dunk Li, Rei squared off against Kai for ditching him. Kai shot at him and tackled him into the water. When Rei came up for air he was choking. Kai moved closer to him, concerned when he caught the way Rei's lips were slightly curving up into a smirk. Rei turned around and tackled Kai into the water and they began wrestling again. Kai, being the stronger one, pulled Rei under again and held him under. Rei began to panic for a second and let out most of his air before he felt Kai press his lips against his own and they shared a breath.  
  
When they came back up for air Rei was pouting (and gasping for air) and pushed Kai away.  
  
"That was unfair." He whined and Kai just laughed. Rei was still pouting when Kai turned around to go in to get warm. The others had already given up their battles and were sunbathing on the shore. Rei did some quick thinking and tackled Kai from behind, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and his legs firmly around his waist. Kai went down fast, almost too surprised to take a quick breath before he went under. When he came back up Rei was still latched onto his back firmly and wouldn't let go. He began to tease Kai, kissing, nipping and licking the skin of Kai's neck. Kai moaned in frustration and tried to dislodge Rei.  
  
"Don't tell me you want me to stop." Rei whispered slyly into his ear, nipping it gently. He pressed his whole body against Kai's and groaned softly, purely for Kai's benefit. Kai growled and finally managed to pull Rei around to his front, helped a little by the lack of friction the water caused. He began to kiss Rei back and wrapped his arms around Rei's waist, pulling him closer. Rei began to drop his legs from Kai's waist to stand it the water (which was half way up their calves) but was stopped by Kai's hand sliding down from his waist to the back of his knee, holding it around his hips. Rei smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Kai's head, holding his lips closer.  
  
From the shore, everyone else was watching their new entertainment. Mariah laughed when Rei tackled Kai into the water, thinking to use that tactic later when she got back at Li for dunking her. She was about to go into detail of her plan for revenge when Takao shot up angrily and started shouting obscenities in the direction of Rei and Kai.  
  
"What the hell does he think he's doing?!" He screamed. They all looked out into the water and saw that Kai's mouth had gone from Rei's lips to his neck and from the way Rei's head was tilted back in ecstasy he was enjoying every minute of it. "He's going to drown!" The other's rolled their eyes. Takao was still a little antsy about Kai being a vampire. He seemed to think that Kai was bloodthirsty. Though it might have been just the way Kai reacted when Takao got on his nerves. Everyone, including the couple in the water, ignored Takao's ranting.  
  
Kai moved back to Rei's mouth for a second.  
  
"Take a breath." He whispered against Rei's lips before falling forward into the water. Rei was caught off guard and came back to the surface sputtering.  
  
"Got you back." Kai exclaimed grinning triumphantly. They continued their little water war until they finally became exhausted and waded back in to shore.  
  
"So who won?" Li asked. They both looked at each other.  
  
"Me." They both replied simultaneously. Takao snickered.  
  
"I guess you'll have to continue it some other time then." He exclaimed. Rei and Kai nodded and sat down.  
  
"Do you guys want to go to the hot springs later?" Mariah asked.  
  
"Sure, why not." Max answered. Everyone else agreed. Rei found himself a long beach chair and lay down, face first. Kai sat down beside him.  
  
"Can you give me a massage?" Rei yawned sleepily. Kai let out a laugh. Rei rolled over a bit and looked up at him, pleadingly.  
  
"Onegai?" He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout for good measure. He looked like the moment Kai placed a hand on him he'd fall asleep. Kai rolled his eyes and shrugged.  
  
"Fine. Why not?" He sighed and placed both of his hands on Rei's shoulders. Rei smiled drowsily and lay his head down on his arms. Within seconds of Kai's fingers touching his skin he was fast asleep and Kai hadn't even been giving him a real massage. He was mostly letting his fingers flow softly over every muscle of Rei's back, memorizing the feel.  
  
"Hey Kai." Max whispered, coming over. "We're going to head over to the springs now." Kai nodded.  
  
"I'll wake Rei up and we'll meet you there." He told Max. The blond nodded in agreement and turned back to the others. Kai shook Rei gently. He didn't even move a muscle.  
  
"Rei, get up." He ordered strictly. Rei just moaned and swatted away his hands. "Come on, Rei. We're going to the hot springs now." Rei still didn't move. Shaking his head, Kai sighed deeply. He pulled Rei into a sitting position and hauled him onto his back. He picked up their towels and headed off towards the springs.  
  
***  
  
By the time they got to the springs Rei was fully awake and still riding on Kai's back.  
  
"You know, the tournament is in two days." Takao exclaimed. They had been discussing the tournament while Kai was gone.  
  
'Yeah, and that's why we're going to have to do a lot of training to be prepared." Kai exclaimed as he let go of Rei and slid into the warm water. Rei slipped in beside him. "We've already slacked off enough." The Bladebreakers began to grumble.  
  
"I told you to shut up when Kai came!" Max yelled at Takao. Everyone but Kai and Takao found it funny.  
  
"I wonder how tough our opponents are going to be." Rei said quietly, not really talking to anyone in particular. "Maybe we'll face some of the teams from the last Asian Tournament." He smiled in remembrance.  
  
"Our first opponent is one that we met at the American Tournament." Takao piped up. "I think they were called Spintensity. Luiz the dancer, Mario and Frankie."  
  
"I remember Frankie." Rei smiled. "She was cute." But he rethought that sentence when he saw Kai narrow his eyes dangerously. "For a kid." He laughed. Kai still kept his glare on Rei. He didn't seem to like Rei thinking that anyone was cute. He remembered how that girl used to act around Rei. But of course, he knew he could trust Rei.  
  
"Who's going to go first?" Kenny asked, pulling out his laptop and turning around to place it on the rocks behind them.  
  
"I'm going to stay out of the first round to get a good look at all of the competition." Kai announced "See their moves before they see mine." Kenny nodded and typed something into his computer.  
  
"I'll go first!" Max called out enthusiastically.  
  
"And I'll go last." Takao added. Rei shrugged.  
  
"So, I guess I'm second then." He sat back and relaxed. Now that they had all of that out of the way they could enjoy the rest of their 'bath'. He looked over and noticed that Kai's eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep. He had his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
Rei glided over to Kai and uncrossed his arms. Kai didn't open his eyes, knowing it was only Rei. Rei sat down in Kai's lap, his back pressed against Kai's chest and leaned back, letting his head rest against his shoulder. Smiling softly, Kai wrapped his arms protectively around his lover's waist. Leaning forward, Rei pulled out his long black hair and let it drape over Kai's shoulder before nuzzling his head into the crook of Kai's neck. He slowly placed his hands over Kai's and twined their fingers together. He kissed Kai's chin gently before drifting off to sleep.  
  
Mariah moved over to Li and nodded over towards the pair who were now fast asleep in each other's arms.  
  
"There's so much more to their relationship that physical attraction." She whispered. "They are deeply connected, like they could survive anything, knowing that the other would be by their side to help them." Li nodded and pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. Li smiled down at her in contentment and closed his eyes.  
  
~Finis  
  
OMG! You have no idea how long that took me to write. I actually lost interest in Beyblade... the show AND the fics... you have darkness to thank for saving me. Plus I promised to have this story up in time for her to read in the morning. (See! I kept my promise!!!) I'm going to start right away working on chapter ten so that I don't fall behind again in posting. (P.S I've given you all so many hints as to how this is going to end... sigh... I can tell that a lot of people are going to kill me for the ending... oh well... only two more chapters to go... and let me tell you... a lot of good shit happens in them.)  
  
Special thanks goes to the following people who actually e-mailed me asking where this story had gotten to: Bridget Sassinak Yukimi Gryfith Jamie darkness Lex Cindy ... (who actually reviewed AWFS to find out what happened to immortal blood lol ) Shinigami's Voice (I just figured out who the hell shinigami is... that's sad ... for me... but he's so cute!!) And Anime Fan  
  
You guys are the one's that kept me going!! I never actually thought anyone would actually e-mail me asking what happened to Immortal Blood. No, seriously... I thought it would disappear and no one would notice...  
  
And also... to Thera's Blaed... you were a very special review to me for two reasons. You were the last review before my fic was taken down, and you were my 100th review. It's just a shame that this story is no longer in your faves list. I hope you are able to keep reading this even if you don't add my story back to your faves list. Heh heh.  
  
Chapter 10: Jealousy 


	10. Jealousy

Okay... just for those of you who read the first version of Chapter nine... I made a mistake on one part of it. Takao's supposed to say that he wants to go third, not second. So the order is supposed to be Max, Rei and then Takao. 'Kay?... okay!  
  
Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter 10: Jealousy  
  
For the next two days, the Bladebreakers and the White Tigers practiced non- stop. The last day they practiced from four in the morning until sunset. Kai decided to let them get some sleep before their tournament match the next day.  
  
In the morning they headed straight for the China Tower. In the lobby they spot the front desk and walk over to speak to the receptionist.  
  
"Hey!" Takao greeted her enthusiastically. "Have you seen our first opponents? We're the Bladebreakers and we wanted to meet our opponents before our battle." He explained. She looked up, seemingly unimpressed and pointed her pen behind them to a group of bladers who were looking at the list of challengers.  
  
"Luiz!" Takao yells and the group turns around. The tall blond seemed to have changed his dancing style and had black pressed pants and a tidy black blazer on. His shoes seemed to be tap dancing shoes. Mario has also changed a lot from the kid Kai battled almost three years before. He was much taller and seemed to have learned Kai's infamous glare. He narrowed his eyes at his former opponent. Frankie had also changed. She no longer had a tomboyish look about her. She was now tall and feminine, her lilac hair cascading over her shoulders in waves. She immediately recognised Rei and latched onto his arm, oblivious from the furious glare she received from Kai. Even he had to admit that she was beautiful now.  
  
"Rei!" She cried. "I told you we'd meet again." He looked down at her and sweatdropped. He hadn't expected her to recognise him so quickly. He laughed nervously and led her to a seat to catch up. Kai's eyes never left them.  
  
"Congratulations on winning the World Championships." Luiz shook Takao's hand. Takao grinned and shrugged.  
  
"It was nothing." He exclaimed snobbishly. Max rolled his eyes. The two teams chatted for a few minutes before the announcement for the beginning of their battle was heard.  
  
"I guess we'll se you in the arena." Frankie giggled and they all walked towards their locker rooms.  
  
Kai walked quietly beside Rei, but tuned out everything the boy was saying to him.  
  
"It's nice to meet up with old friends." He exclaimed animatedly. "I can't wait to see how much Frankie has improved. She was so full of spunk the last time we met." Kai gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, restraining his jealousy. He knew he didn't have anything to worry about, but Rei wouldn't stop talking about her.  
  
Rei, on the other hand, didn't even notice Kai's checked temper. They walked into the locker rooms and Kai stopped them at the door.  
  
"I'll go in place of Takao." He announced. He needed a way to vent his frustration and if he didn't do it in a battle, he might hurt somebody. And the way Takao's annoying mouth was, it was likely to catch his attention. Rei raised a brow in confusion to him, but Kai refused to meet his eyes. No one argued because the tone of voice he used left no room for debate. Takao shrugged and sat down against a locker.  
  
"I thought you wanted to get an edge over the competition?" He replied. Kai shot him a bland glare and crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"I changed my mind." He retorted. "I'll make it a quick battle. They'll never know what I did anyways."  
  
"You're so sure of yourself." Rei smirked. "Don't underestimate them." Kai shot him a glare and walked towards the door to the arena.  
  
"Hn. It's time for our match, let's go." He changed the subject and went through the door. His team mates followed.  
  
***  
  
Max faced up against Luiz again and although it was a challenging match, he came up the winner just like their first meeting. Luiz' tap dancing style was very quick and a couple of times Max's blade seemed like a goner.  
  
Rei stepped up to the dish to face off against Frankie. He was mildly surprised.  
  
"I set it up so that we could have our rematch." She beamed at him. He smiled nervously, starting to realise why Kai had been a bit jealous the other night.  
  
"I warn you, I'm a lot stronger than the last time we met." He warned her. She smirked knowingly.  
  
"Of course. So am I." She held up her launcher and loaded her blade. They shot off their blades and began their match. It ended after a few minutes with Rei as the victor.  
  
"You were great!" He called out to her as she bent over to pick up her blade. She looked up and smiled.  
  
"We should hang out later." She exclaimed, motioning to the rest of his team. "Then you guys can tell us all about the World Championships." He smiled back at her brightly.  
  
"That would be great!" but Kai didn't seem to think so. He had seen the way Frankie was looking at Rei all through the battle. He was blinded by his rage and could barely stay in his seat. He wanted to walk calmly over there and throttle the girl who was currently eyeing Rei up as if he was candy. He swallowed a growl and stood up. It was his turn to battle and his opponent was the ever ambitious Mario. He looked up and realized that the boy had been speaking rather loudly at him.  
  
"... I'm going to prove that I can beat you, this time." He shouted at Kai. He seemed to have had all those years to brood over losing to Kai. Kai snorted and held up his blade, staying silent. He had gone back to thinking about Frankie and Rei. Within seconds of the start of their match, Kai's blade was skidding to a stop at Kai's feet. Everyone was stunned. Everyone, that is, except Kai who still seemed to be distracted and hadn't noticed his blade yet. Kai looked down and gasped.  
  
"You were distracted." Mario exclaimed. "I want a fairer fight the next time. I want to battle you when you're focused. I want to beat you fairly." He glared at Kai and walked away. Squeezing the image of his fallen blade out of his mind, Kai clenched his hands and returned to his team mates.  
  
'It's Rei's fault.' He thought to himself. 'Rei's the one who distracted me. If I had kept my mind focused on the battle instead of who he was flirting with I would have easily won that round. He's weakened me.' He walked right past Rei, who was trying to ask him what happened, and out of the stadium. He glided to the bus and waited patiently for the rest of the Bladebreakers to follow him.  
  
***  
  
Rei looked over to Kai. They were sitting on their bus, on the way back to their cabin, and he wouldn't even look Rei in the eye.  
  
"Kai?" He asked. Kai didn't even turn. "What was distracting you?" Kai shot him a deadly glare and returned his gaze to the window of the bus. Rei sighed in defeat. What ever Kai was mad about involved Rei to some degree. He slouched over in his seat and stayed that way for the rest of the trip.  
  
When the bus slowed to a stop, Kai got off and walked towards the forest, ignoring everyone. He needed to clear his head and that meant he didn't need any distractions. The sun's light was fading fast and he knew that sitting by the lake in the darkness would be peaceful enough to leave him with his thoughts.  
  
Rei watched silently as Kai disappeared into the woods. He knew better than to try to follow him out there. He shrugged and turned to his team.  
  
"I'm going to head over to Spintensity's cabin to visit. Do any of you want to join me?" Max and Takao shook their heads.  
  
"We were going to watch some movies." Takao insisted. "But you can go over and get reacquainted with their team again. It's not often you get to catch up with old friends." Takao was starting to babble and Rei got the feeling that their movie night was supposed to be a date. He grinned at the two and nodded. He had learned from Frankie that just about every team from the Asian Championships was staying at their lodge. There would be plenty of opportunities for Takao and Max to catch up with Spintensity.  
  
"You know the real reason Kai lost, ne?" Max piped up just as Rei was turning to leave. He looked back at Max and gave him a questioning look. "He was jealous." Rei rolled his eyes.  
  
"He was not." He dismissed the notion. "Kai knows he has nothing to be jealous about." He turned back and walked to where Frankie had told him their cabin was.  
  
***  
  
Kai found a rock to sit on and put his head in his hands. He knew that his loss wasn't really Rei's fault. He shouldn't have let his emotions control his brain. He knew Rei would never cheat on him. They weren't even really going out technically, so he shouldn't have overreacted. He knew that Rei loved him and no little girl was going to change that in a matter of minutes. He sighed and stared out across the water. The moon was just rising over the water, casting an ethereal glow over everything it could touch, including Kai. He dipped his hand lazily into the water and let the tiny droplets seep through his fingers. He looked up at the moon and sighed once more. He needed to stretch his legs for a bit then he'd go back to the cabin and apologise for being rude to Rei.  
  
"There's really nothing to be jealous over anyways." He muttered to himself and stood up, heading for a small group of cabins.  
  
***  
  
Rei looked up and saw that Frankie had been waiting for him on the front porch. He gave her a warm smile as she stepped down to meet him. He raised a brow at her.  
  
"Mario is still a little miffed that he won so easily." She explained. "Luiz is trying to calm him down. Earlier he was throwing stuff around." She gave Rei a nervous bit of laughter and showed him her bandaged knuckles. "Seems my fist is good at calming too." Rei laughed quietly.  
  
"Why don't we just go for a walk and talk a bit." She offered, looking eagerly up into Rei's amber eyes. He looked down at her cautiously. He knew Kai had nothing to be jealous over so walking with Frankie shouldn't be such a big deal. But deep down he could feel the guilt grab hold of his stomach. He nodded.  
  
"Sure, why not." He mumbled. 'She's only a friend.' He told himself. 'Kai's being a baka.' They set out, weaving in and out of the cluster of cabins near the lake.  
  
After ten minutes of cheerful chatter, Rei realised that Frankie was steering him into a more secluded part of the lodge site while still talking up a storm. Frankie suddenly pulled him close to her and they squeezed into a small space between two cabins. Rei looked down at her and began to feel uncomfortable with how close she was coming.  
  
His head shot towards the space they squeezed through. He could have sworn he heard a twig snap. He did not want to be caught looking like he did with Frankie. It would be much too awkward to explain.  
  
Frankie threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly.  
  
"I'm glad we got a chance to meet again." She whispered. Rei sighed and nodded, putting his arms chastely around her waist. "Close your eyes." She exclaimed softly, leaning up to place her hands behind his head. He looked at her nervously before nodding and closing his eyes.  
  
***  
  
Kai had been wandering around for a good half an hour when he heard animated chatter coming from around a corner. Curiously, he followed the voices until they finally stopped. He shrugged, giving up on the voices and continued walking, until he heard them whispering around the next corner. He kept walking, deciding to take a quick glance and keep walking.  
  
As he passed the opening he stopped in his tracks as he watched the scene unfold.  
  
The boy closed his eyes and the young girl pulled his head down to meet hers. Kai let out a startled gasp when he realised it was Rei and Frankie. He sucked the breath in quickly and his eyes went wide.  
  
'Rei...'  
  
~finis  
  
Yay! I finished that so quickly. Yeah, I know every single one of you now wants to kill me... but... well, they were getting too friendly and I needed to have at least one scene where they have a full out fist brawl. And guess what? Chapter Eleven is the very last one. Yuppers...  
  
Teaser.  
  
Chapter 11: Never Look Back 


	11. Never Look Back

Immortal Blood  
  
Chapter 11: Never Look Back  
  
Rei's head shot back the moment he heard the gasp, but it was too late. When he closed his eyes, the last thing he'd imagined her doing was kiss him. That was why he didn't pull back the instant she pressed her lips to his. He turned his head hoping to every god he knew that it wasn't who he knew it was.  
  
Kai was standing in the opening, silhouetted by the moonlight with a million emotions racing across his face from anger to intense pain and betrayal.  
  
"No." He saw Kai's lips form the word, but no sound came out. Before Rei could pull out of Frankie's grasp Kai bolted, heading back to the lake.  
  
"Rei, who was that?" Frankie asked, drawing his attention back to her. She was giving him a bewildered look.  
  
"Frankie, that was Kai." He whispered, lowering his head. "You see me and him are..." He trailed off, wondering what their relationship could be defined as. They had never really sat down and discussed the notion of them dating.  
  
"You two are lovers, ne?" She finished for him. He looked up and nodded. She frowned and sighed. "I don't think I should have done that. If I had known you were already in a relationship I would have stopped." She was suddenly feeling horribly guilty about the kiss. "I should have known the good ones would all be taken." She muttered to herself as Rei ran out of their place and after Kai. He wasn't too far behind him either.  
  
When he finally got to the lake, he found Kai sitting on a rock, staring out over the water, huddled into a tight little ball. He moved closer and saw that Kai was shaking.  
  
"Kai." He whispered. Kai looked up and Rei noticed that Kai wasn't even near tears. He just looked indifferent, but he instantly regretted the next words out of his mouth. "I guess now you know how I felt when Mariah kissed you." Kai whirled around and was in front of him in a flash, giving him a taste of his fist. Rei found himself sprawled out on the grass with Kai leaning over him, fist ready to strike again. Rei didn't try to defend himself. At least this way Kai might listen to what he had to say.  
  
"Was that your revenge, you fucking bastard?!" He screamed at Rei, rage flashing across his eyes. He pulled his hand back a little, threatening to hit again, hard. Rei shook his head.  
  
"No, it wasn't like that." He protested. "I didn't kiss her. It meant nothing to me." But Kai still held his fist above Rei's face, disbelieving of his words. "I thought you loved me." He whispered. Kai's face contorted into shock and then he sneered down at Rei in anger. He was furious that Rei would have the audacity to say such a thing to him.  
  
"I don't love you?!" He bellowed. "I'm not the one kissing other people, like that whore!" he narrowed his eyes at Rei.  
  
"She's not a whore and I didn't kiss her." He shouted back, defending Frankie. "If you loved me then you'd trust me and believe me. Not everyone is out to fuck up your life. You're doing a great job on your own." He pushed a startled Kai off of him and walked away. If Kai didn't believe him then that would be Kai's problem to deal with. He paced quickly back to their cabin, leaving Kai still leaning over the grass, thinking about what Rei had just told him.  
  
Kai stared up at Rei's disappearing figure, wondering whether to believe him or not. He had seen the way he had obediently closed his eyes and lowered his head to receive Frankie's kiss. He wasn't sure if it had been of Rei's own free will or if Frankie had pulled him down. He had too many arguments flying around in his own head and all of that was only serving to make him hungrier and not in the food sense. His stomach grumbled its request for blood. He looked down at his gut disgustedly and picked himself up off the ground. He usually had a little appetite for blood after some stressful event or after getting angry.  
  
But not even his thirst made him forget about the kiss. He wanted to find that girl's cabin and throttle her for even so much as looking suggestively at Rei. He wanted so much to believe Rei, but what if Rei really was trying to get his revenge. He swallowed deeply and trudged back towards the cabin. His stomach was starting to irritate him and he knew that since he couldn't resolve this issue overnight it would really start to hurt.  
  
He quietly pulled open the door to their cabin and saw Takao, Kenny and Max looking up at him from the sofa expectantly.  
  
"What did you do to Rei?" Takao asked bluntly. He was never one for tact. Kai looked at him, perplexed and shrugged.  
  
"I don't see that it's any of your business." He shot Takao a glare, knowing he would probably end up deserving it later. Ignoring the rest of the group's looks he walked past them and headed towards his and Rei's room where he assumed Rei was.  
  
He opened the door and was surprised to find Rei changing shirts and filling a bag with some clothes. He cleared his throat to attract Rei's attention but he didn't turn around. He kept filling his bag, shirtless. Kai growled under his breath at Rei's obvious attempt at ignoring him and shut the door behind him. He was not only aroused by the sight of Rei's upper body, but he was still thirsty and the way Rei leaned his head over looked very much like an invitation to drink. He jumped over Rei's pile of clothed and grabbed his shoulders roughly, holding him still.  
  
"Kai!" Rei shouted, startled at Kai's rough behaviour. Kai ignored him and nosed Rei's silky hair out of the way, nuzzling the soft skin of Rei's neck. Rei struggled in Kai's grasp, trying to find a way to make Kai let him go.  
  
"Kai, Let me go!" He screamed, panicking. "Do you think I'm going to forget what you said to me?!"  
  
"No, this isn't about that." Kai murmured into Rei's neck, intoxicated by the smell of the body he was holding tightly. He brought one hand around Rei's shoulders and held his jaw in place, tilting his head slightly away from him, baring even more delicious skin to him. Rei was starting to get angry.  
  
"Like hell it isn't." He shouted, his voice raising slightly in pitch with every word. "You think that just because you're a little hungry, I'll forget about everything and let you seduce me? You're fucking wrong." Kai growled at Rei's attempts to free himself and licked his neck tentatively. He was beginning to get irritated.  
  
Rei finally pulled Kai's hands off him and leaned over to pull on a clean shirt, ready to act as if that didn't just happen when Kai slammed him into the wall, holding both of his hands with one of his own above Rei's head, pinning him there.  
  
He dove in and kissed Rei's lips hard. Rei was trying hard to fight not only Kai's kiss but his own traitorous body. Kai let his free hand trace its way down Rei's side and rest lightly on his hips, grinding his own into Rei's body.  
  
Rei threw his head back in ecstasy and moaned at the feeling of having Kai so close to him. He was beginning to lose his mind. If he didn't do something soon, he'd give in to every demand Kai made and he didn't want Kai knowing he had that kind of power over him. Wincing slightly, Rei used the last of his will power to break free of Kai's hold and slam his fist into Kai, throwing him off of himself. Kai stumbled back, startled, holding his chin in one hand.  
  
"NO, KAI!!" He yelled, panting heavily. "Find someone else to play around with, I won't do it again. Not this time." He glared his hardest at Kai, which wasn't much considering his body desperately wanted to be wrapped around Kai's again. Kai looked up at him pleadingly.  
  
"Rei, I'm sorry for not trusting you, but-" Kai stood up. Rei backed away from Kai, ready to fight back again if he needed to.  
  
"BUT!" He cried. "You didn't trust me, even when I told you it meant nothing." Kai was really looking sorry for what he did, but Rei couldn't be sure if it was the thirst in him talking or if he really meant what he said.  
  
"Rei, stop this." Kai pleaded. He couldn't stand to see Rei looking at him the way he was. The hunger inside him and the memory of the kiss were tearing him up inside and he just wanted it all to stop.  
  
"No." Rei exclaimed with absolute finality in his voice. "You're not drinking from me until you realize what trust is. Maybe I don't trust you enough to stop drinking before I die. Maybe I think that you're still mad about Frankie kissing me and might try to kill me for it." He turned and continued to pack up his bag with clothing. Kai moved over, closer to him. Kai was startled that Rei would ever think that of him. He knew his limits and under no circumstances would he ever even think of harming Rei, especially not after a fight.  
  
"No, Rei. I wouldn't." He whispered and grabbed his arm. Rei looked into his eyes and nodded solemnly. He looked beaten and worn out, like it had taken all his energy to get that through to Kai.  
  
"I know that Kai, because I trust you." He whispered, pulling Kai's hand off of his arm. He zipped his bag closed, grabbed Driger from the bedside table and walked out of their room. Kai followed silently, understanding what Rei was trying to tell him, although he visibly flinched when Rei picked up his coat of the rack.  
  
"Please don't." Kai whispered, near tears. He wasn't even sure if Rei could hear him. Rei was reaching for the door handle when he stopped and turned around, a look of intense sorrow on his face. He stepped closer to Kai and placed his palm gently on Kai's cheek, allowing his thumb to catch Kai's silent tears. He gently placed a kiss on his lips and stepped back.  
  
"When you feel you can trust me, come and find me." He smiled painfully and turned the knob. Takao and the others on the couch suddenly jumped up. They had been watching the entire exchange and were wondering what the bag was for. They started shouting for Rei to stay, but he ignored their pleas and opened the door. Without a backwards glance Rei walked out of the Bladebreakers' lodge and into the night as Kai collapsed to his knees. The others ran to the door, around Kai, but when they got there Rei was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Takao turned to glare venomously at Kai.  
  
"What did you do this time, Hiwatari?" He spat. Kai didn't respond. He just continued to stare out into the darkness, almost as if he could see Rei in the shadows of the night. Max and Kenny, who were still looking out the door, sighed in defeat. Max turned to Kai sadly as if he subconsciously knew how much it had hurt both Kai and Rei for him to leave.  
  
"Rei isn't ever coming back, is he?" He asked softly, his eyes saddened for his friends. Kai looked up at Max and sighed, standing up and hardening his face. He shook his head and turned his back on the door.  
  
"No." He replied, his voice filled with ice, knowing it was his fault. "He's never coming back."  
  
Owari  
  
[EDIT] Unfortunately for those of you who were eagerly waiting for the sequel, there won't be one in the near future. I apologize for any expectations people may or may not have had for this, but I'm glad I finished the story before I lost interest in the series. 


End file.
